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ESSAY 


ON  THE 

HIEROGLYPHIC  SYSTEM 

OF 

M.  CHAMPOLLION,  Jun. 

AND  on  the 

ADVANTAGES  WHICH  IT  OFFERS  TO  SACRED  CRITICISM. 


BY  J.  G.  H.  GREPPO, 

Vicar  General  of  Belley. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH 

BY  ISAAC  STUART, 

WITH 

tMotes  auîr  Eilustratious. 


Posuit  Dominus  in  Ægypto  signa  sua. 


BOSTON: 

PERKINS  & MARVIN,  114,  WASHINGTON  STREET. 


1830. 


DISTRICT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS to  wit  : 

District  Clerk's  Office. 

Be  it  remembered,  that  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  September,  A.  D. 
1830,  in  the  fifty  fifth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  Perkins  & Martin,  of  the  said  District,  have  deposited  in 
this  Office  the  Title  of  a Book,  the  right  whereof  they  claim  as  Proprietors, 
in  the  words  following,  to  wit  : — 

“ Essay  on  the  Hieroglyphic  System  of  M.  Champollion,  Jun.  and  on  the 
Advantages  which  it  offers  to  Sacred  Criticism.  By  J.  G.  H.  Greppo, 
Vicar  General  of  Belley.  Translated  from  the  French  by  Isaac  Stuart, 
with  Notes  and  Illustrations.  Posuit  Dominus  in  Ægypto  signa  sua.” 

In  conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled 
u An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps, 
charts  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the 
times  therein  mentioned  and  also  to  an  Act  entitled  “ An  Act  supplemen- 
tary to  an  Act  entitled  An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by 
securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts  and  books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors 
of  such  copies  during  the  times  therein  mentioned;  and  extending  the 
benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing,  engraving  and  etching  historical 
and  other  prints.” 

TNO  W DAVTS  ? Clerk  of  the  District 
JAG.  W.  DAVIfe,  J 0f  Massachusetts. 


T.  R.  Marvin Printer. 


PREFACE. 


The  interest  which  the  Christian  public  is  now 
taking  in  the  subject  of  Egyptian  Hieroglyphics, 
renders  it  desirable  that  some  work  should  appear, 
which  may  impart  the  information  necessary  to 
gratify  literary  and  religious  curiosity.  Egypt  was  the 
mother  of  the  arts,  sciences,  letters,  and  learning,  in 
the  ancient  western  world.  Its  history,  at  a very  re- 
mote period,  stands  connected  with  that  of  the  people 
of  God.  The  philosopher  as  well  as  the  Christian, 
then,  cannot  help  feeling  a deep  interest,  in  having  the 
dust  of  ages  which  has  covered  the  monuments  and 
the  glory  of  Egypt,  swept  away  ; and  in  seeing  her 
rising  from  her  obscurity  and  ruins,  with  renovated 
splendor. 

The  great  problem  of  Hieroglyphics  is  at  last  sol- 
ved ; and  the  veil  has  been  lifted  up  which  hid  from 
past  ages  the  mysteries  that  lay  concealed  under  them. 
We  now  know,  that  they  were  usually  employed 
as  mere  alphabetic  letters  ; that  when  thus  read,  they 
give  us  regular  composition  in  the  Coptic  or  old  Egyp- 
tian language  ; and  that,  as  the  Coptic  is  understood 


IV 


PREFACE. 


by  a considerable  number  of  scholars  in  Europe,  we 
are  in  a fair  way  of  knowing  all  which  the  Egyptian 
phonetic  or  alphabetic  Hieroglyphics  on  the  monu- 
ments, were  designed  to  teach. 

We  now  know  also,  that  Hieroglyphics  were  often 
employed  as  symbols , i.  e.  as  the  signs  of  ideas  ; and 
these  symbols  are  to  a great  extent  already  known, 
and  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  'them  is  gradual  and 
constant. 

It  is  also  ascertained,  that  there  are  Hieroglyphics, 
or  rather,  groups  of  them,  which  have  a mystical 
meaning  ; such  as  they  have  generally  been  supposed 
to  convey. 

The  interests  of  religion  are  deeply  concerned  in 
these  investigations.  The  people  of  God  sojourned 
for  several  centuries  in  Egypt  ; and  during  a part  of 
the  time,  when  many  of  the  monuments  and  edifices 
now  standing  were  actually  erected.  There  can  be 
but  little  doubt,  that  a part  of  their  cruel  bondage  con- 
sisted in  laboring  to  erect  some  of  these,  or  to  prepare 
materials  for  them.  The  overthrow  of  a distinguished 
Egyptian  king,  was  connected  with  the  departure  of 
the  Hebrews  from  the  land  of  Egypt.  Are  there  any 
notices  of  them,  or  of  their  oppressors,  on  the  monu- 
ments of  this  country,  or  among  the  numerous  manu- 
scripts which  are  every  day  discovered  amidst  the 
tombs  and  ruins  ? Is  there  any  confirmation  of  the 
Scripture  accounts,  derived  from  these  accidental 
and  hitherto  inaccessible  sources  of  knowledge  ? — 
Questions  of  great  interest  to  the  Christian,  who  rev- 
erences the  Scriptures  ; and  even  to  the  mere  lovers  of 
ancient  history. 


PREFACE. 


V 


On  these  questions  some  light  is  thrown  in  the  fol- 
lowing sheets.  It  is  the  special  object  of  M.  Greppo, 
the  writer,  to  direct  his  attention  to  this  particular 
point.  I cannot  help  thinking,  that  what  he  has  done 
will  be  grateful  and  acceptable  to  the  public  in  this 
country. 

The  translation  of  the  work  was  made  by  my  son, 
whose  name  stands  on  the  title  page.  I have  inspect- 
ed the  whole,  and  compared  it  with  the  original. 
Here  and  there  I have  suggested  some  slight  verbal 
alterations.  In  all  other  respects  the  work  is  as  it 
came  from  the  hands  of  the  translator. 

In  regard  to  the  Notes  ; such  as  are  my  own,  are 
included  in  brackets,  and  have  the  initials  of  my  name 
added  at  the  close.  For  the  rest,  the  translator  is  re- 
sponsible. 

My  hope  and  earnest  desire  is,  that  the  wrork  may 
not  only  gratify  a laudable  curiosity  in  the  public  mind, 
but  that  it  may  contribute  to  render  still  more  firm  the 
belief  of  Christians  in  the  truth  and  faithfulness  of  the 
sacred  writers. 

I only  add,  that  the  work  of  Spineto,  and  Jablon- 
ski’s  Pantheon  Ægyjotiacum,  have  been  used  in  pre- 
paring the  notes  ; and  nearly  every  thing  material  has 
been  taken  from  Spineto,  in  which  he  differs  from 
M.  Greppo,  or  has  gone  beyond  him  in  descanting  on 
particular  topics.  The  work  of  Spineto  is  too  large 
and  expensive  for  republication  here  ; and  its  design 
not  directly  a religious  one.  On  this  account  I have 
thought  the  work  of  M.  Greppo  preferable  ; and  he 
has  evidently  studied  his  subject  as  extensively  as 

Spineto,  although  he  is  less  bold  in  advancing  some 
* 


VI 


PREFACE. 


theories.  I have  seen  no  critiques  on  either  book  ; 
nor  do  I wish  to  see  them  for  my  own  satisfaction, 
as  I have  read  them  both. 

That  I have  seen  occasion  to  differ  from  M.  Greppo, 
in  respect  to  some  of  his  positions  which  have  relation 
to  Hebrew  philology  and  criticism , I trust  he  will  not 
put  to  the  score  of  hyper-criticism  or  the  love  of 
finding  fault.  Whenever  I have  differed,  I have 
felt  bound  to  give  the  reasons  for  it  ; and  of  these, 
the  reader  who  is  competent  must  be  left  to  judge. 
M.  Greppo  and  myself  have,  I trust,  one  and  the  same 
object  in  view  ; and  this  is,  to  get  at  the  truth.  If  in 
our  single,  or  by  our  joint  endeavors,  the  reader  is  fur- 
nished with  any  means  of  obtaining  this  result,  we 
shall  both  be  abundantly  rewarded  for  our  labor. 

MOSES  STUART. 

Andover , Theol.  Sem.  ) 

September , 1830.  \ 


CONTENTS, 


Preface,  . 


Page. 
. iii 


Advertisement, 
Introduction,  . 


PART  I- 

EXPLANATION  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHIC  SYSTEM  OF  CHAM POLLION. 

CHAPTER  I. 

STATE  OF  THE  STUDY  OF  HIEROGLYPHICS  DOWN  TO  THE 

PRESENT  TIME. 

Knowledge  of  hieroglyphics  among  the  Egyptians.  Among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  Labors  of  the  moderns  upon  hieroglyphics. 
Discovery  of  the  polyglott  monument  at  Rosetta 6 

CHAPTER  II. 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHICS. 

Labors  of  Champollion.  Foreign  names  upon  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments. Royal  cartouches,  name  of  Ptolemy.  Obelisk  of  Philoe, 
name  of  Cleopatra.  Phonetic  alphabet 18 

CHAPTER  III. 

ON  THE  NATURE  OF  EGYPTIAN  WRITINGS. 

Three  kinds  of  writing  among  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Two  orders 
of  signs  in  the  hieroglyphic  writing.  Division  of  the  ideographic 
signs 26 


CHAPTER  IV. 

^ EPITOME  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHIC  SYSTEM. 

Forms  and  number  of  signs.  Delineation  of  signs.  Disposition  of 
signs.  Figurative  characters.  Symbolical  characters.  Phonetic 
characters.  Simultaneous  employment  of  three  orders  of  signs. 
Egyptian  or  foreign  names  upon  the  monuments.  Grammatical 
forms.  Certainty  of  Champollion’s  system 


35 


CONTENTS 


Vil  I 


CHAPTER  V. 

BRIEF  VIEW  OF  THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  DISCOVERY  OF 
HIEROGLYPHICS. 

Historical  and  chronological  results.  Results  in  relation  to  Egyptian 

mythology.  Results  relative  to  the  history  of  art  in  Egypt.  . . 52 


PART  II. 

APPLICATION  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHIC  SYSTEM  TO  THE  SACRED 
WRITINGS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMINARY  OBSERVATIONS. 

Relations  of  the  Hebrews  with  the  Egyptians.  Connection  of  their 
histories.  Analogy  in  the  manners  of  both  nations.  Utility  of 
the  reading  of  hieroglyphics,  in  respect  to  sacred  history  which  re- 
lates to  Egypt 66 


CHAPTER  II. 

PHILOLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

Relations  between  the  Egyptian  writings  and  those  of  the  Hebrews. 
Analogies  between  the  style  of  the  sacred  writings  and  that  of 
certain  hieroglyphic  legends.  Egyptian  names  preserved  in  the 
Bible 72 


CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORICAL  AND  CHRONOLOGICAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 

Name  of  Pharaoh  given  to  the  kings  of  Egypt.  Utility  of  the  labors 
of  Champollion  Figeac.  Pharaohs  cotemporary  with  Abraham, — 
with  Joseph.  Pharaoh  the  oppressor  of  the  Hebrews.  Pharaoh 
the  enemy  of  Moses 82 

CHAPTER  IV. 

DIFFICULTY  RELATIVE  TO  THE  LAST  PHARAOH  OF  EXODUS. 

Did  this  Pharaoh  perish  in  the  Red  Sea  ? Silence  of  the  historical 
books  on  this  subject.  Examination  of  passages  in  the  song  of 
the  Israelites  and  in  the  Psalms.  Some  evidence  in  favor  of  the 
opinion  that  this  prince  did  not  share  in  the  calamity  of  his  army.  100 

CHAPTER  V. 

OTHER  PHARAOHS  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

Pharaoh  cotemporary  with  David.  Pharaoh  father-in-law  of  king 

Solomon.  Pharaohs  mentioned  in  various  texts  of  the  prophets.  112 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  KINGS  OF  EGYPT  DISTINGUISHED  BY  PROPER  NAMES 
IN  SCRIPTURE. 

Shishak.  Zerah  the  Ethiopian.  So.  Tirhakah.  Necho.  Hophra.  116 

CHAPTER  VII. 

ON  THE  CHRONOLOGY  OF  MANETHO. 

Of  Manetho  and  his  tablet  of  the  kings  of  Egypt.  Of  the  confidence 
which  he  deserves.  Is  his  chronology  opposed  to  that  of  the  Bible  ? 
Probable  chronological  limits  of  the  Egyptian  monuments.  . . . 133 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

GEOGRAPHICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

Egyptian  name  of  the  city  of  Heliopolis.  City  of  Rameses.  Land  of 
Rameses.  Advantages  to  sacred  learning  from  researches  in  the 
country  of  Goshen.  City  of  Taphnis.  City  called  in  the  He- 
brew text  No  Ammon , etc 143 

CHAPTER  IX. 

ANSWER  TO  CERTAIN  DIFFICULTIES  OF  INFIDELS. 

Could  Moses  write  the  Pentateuch  in  the  desert  ? Magnificence  of 
the  tabernacle  and  of  other  objects  consecrated  to  the  worship 
of  the  true  God.  Silence  of  the  sacred  historians  in  relation  to 
Sesostris 162 


CHAPTER  X. 

EGYPTIAN  ZODIACS. 

Discovery  of  the  zodiacs  of  Dendera  and  of  Esne.  Objections  against 
biblical  chronology.  Arrival  in  France  of  the  planisphere  of  Den- 
dera. Contradictory  systems  about  this  monument.  The  date  of 
this  and  of  other  zodiacs  ascertained  by  Champollion.  Object  of 
zodiacal  representations  among  the  ancients 177 


■APPENDIX. 

A. 

Brief  description  of  Anaglyphs 191 

B. 

Chronological  periods  in  Egyptian  History 192 

c. 

Inscription  at  Rosetta 193 

D. 

Hieroglyphic  method  of  writing  the  name  Ptolemy . 196 


X 


CONTENTS 


E. 

Hieroglyphic  method  of  writing  the  names  Cleopatra  and  Cæsar.  . 196 

F. 

Distinction  between  the  different  kinds  of  Hieroglyphics 199 

G. 

Various  alphabets  of  the  Egyptians.  Comparison  of  Egyptian  and 

Chinese  characters 206 

H. 

N umber  of  Hieroglyphics 209 

I. 

Mexican  Hieroglyphics 210 

J. 

Specimens  of  Horapollo 215 

K. 

Choice  of  forms  in  Hieroglyphic  Writing 220 

L. 

Grammatical  Forms 223 

M. 

Brief  notices  of  Egyptian  Mythology 225 

N. 

Brief  sketches  of  the  Arts  and  Architecture  of  Egypt 242 

O. 

Similarity  of  Egyptian  and  Hebrew  Writing  and  Language.  . . . 267 

P. 

Numeration  by  Hieroglyphics 270 

Q. 

Doubts  as  to  the  escape  of  Pharaoh  from  the  catastrophe  at  the 

Red  Sea 271 

R. 

Chronology  of  the  Septuagint  and  Samaritan  copies  of  the  Old 

Testament 274 

S. 

Location  of  Rameses 275 

T. 

Situation  of  Goshen 276 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


This  Essay  is  the  result  of  the  leisure  moments,  which 
have  been  furnished  me  by  the  zeal  and  personal  activity  of 
the  venerable  and  distinguished  prelate  to  whom  I am  bound 
by  virtue  of  my  office,  and  still  more  by  the  ties  of  strong  af- 
fection. 

Attached,  from  my  childhood,  to  the  study  of  history  and 
of  the  monuments  of  antiquity,  the  duties  of  my  station  have 
never  compelled  me  wholly  to  abandon  pursuits  so  attractive  ; 
but  I have  felt  that  my  character  imposed  upon  me,  in  some 
manner,  an  obligation  to  connect  them  with  that  divine  reli- 
gion, which  itself  extending  back  to  the  infancy  of  the  world, 
is  supported  by  the  most  ancient  historical  traditions.  I 
could  not  remain  ignorant  of  the  important  labors  of  Cham- 
pollion,  and  from  the  first,  I have  followed  all  his  publications 
with  the  most  lively  interest.  The  application  of  his  system 
to  determining  the  age  of  the  famous  zodiac  of  Dendera , 
which  was  then  attracting  universal  attention,  gave  me  the 
first  idea  of  the  advantages  which  such  a discovery  might 
furnish  in  the  interpretation  and  defence  of  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures. This  idea  became  more  fully  developed  when  I read 
his  Précis , and  I then  began,  according  to  my  custom,  to 
write  down  the  observations  which  are  found  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  work,  and  afterwards  I concluded  that  it 
might  be  useful  to  increase  and  publish  them. 

Some  circumstances,  of  no  consequence  to  the  reader,  have 
delayed  the  publication  of  this  work.  I know  that  I have 
lost  the  advantage  of  that  public  interest  which  springs  from 
the  novelty  of  a subject,  and  which  is  so  powerful  in  its  influ- 
ence upon  many  persons.  But  perhaps  my  work  has  gained 
intrinsically  by  this  delay,  it  having  been  reviewed  and  im- 
proved by  each  new  discovery  which  has  come  to  my  know- 
ledge, and  by  many  facts  of  antiquity  which  have  been 
recalled  to  my  remembrance.  However  this  may  be,  I shall 
still  be  consoled  for  any  errors  which  affect  myself,  if  I can 


Xll 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


hope  that  the  cause  of  religion  may  be  aided  by  a work  which 
I present  to  the  public  in  an  unpretending  and  unambitious 
way,  and  with  no  interest  in  its  pecuniary  results.  In  one 
sense,  moreover,  this  work  is  not  my  own  ; it  belongs  entirely 
to  the  learned  men  whom  I have  followed  ; and  I am  con- 
scious that  no  other  merit  belongs  to  me,  than  that  of  making 
a few  natural  applications  of  the  subject,  and,  what  is  of  far 
less  merit,  of  making  a simple  digest. 

It  is  useless  for  me  to  mention  all  that  I owe  to  Champol- 
lion,*  who  has  furnished  me  materials  for  nearly  the  whole  of 
my  work.  His  name,  and  that  of  his  learned  brother,  will  be 
found  upon  most  of  its  pages.  They  would  have  been  still 
oftener  alluded  to,  had  I named  them  each  time  I have  bor- 
rowed from  them.  The  labors  of  M.  Letronne  upon  the  in- 
scriptions, the  zodiacs,  and  the  text  of  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
have  been  of  great  assistance  to  me.  I have  drawn  from  them 
as  from  a common  and  public  source.  Lastly,  I owe  much  to 
the  interesting  little  work  of  M.  L.  A.  C.  Coquerel,  entitled 
Lettre  à M.  Ch.  Coquerel  sur  le  Système  Hiéroglyphique  de 
M.  Champollion,  considéré  dans  ses  rapports  avec  V Écriture 
Sainte.  Amsterdam,  1825,  in  8vo.  48  pp.  He  has  furnished 
me,  among  other  things,  with  all  that  I have  said  upon  the 
subject  of  Sesostris,  and  I acknowledge,  that  without  his 
assistance,  this  important  difficulty  would  have  wholly  escaped 
me.  The  announcement  of  this  publication  led  me  to  sus- 
pend my  own,  until  I could  receive  it  from  Holland.  I then 
read  it  with  the  greatest  satisfaction.  Perhaps  I ought  not  to 
have  ventured  to  treat  upon  the  same  subject  ; but  this  pro- 
duction has  been  much  less  known  in  France  than  it  deserves 
to  be.  Besides,  my  plan  was  more  extensive  than  the 
limits  of  a single  letter  like  that  could  embrace  ; and  I have 
not  thought  it  a rash  step,  to  enter  the  lists  after  him  for  the 
defence  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  that  so  all  Christian  societies 
may  learn  properly  to  venerate  them  as  the  sacred  deposits  of 
the  word  of  God. 


* The  name  of  the  younger  Champollion  will  be  designated  throughout  this 
work  by  the  name  Champollion  simply,  and  that  of  his  brother  by  the  addition  of 
Figeac. — Ta. 


ESSAY,  &c. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Among  the  numerous  discoveries  of  all  kinds  which 
are  daily  adding  splendor  to  our  age,  there  is  one  of  a pe- 
culiar order,  and  well  adapted,  both  by  its  nature  and  by 
the  results  which  it  promises,  to  excite  the  highest  degree 
of  interest  among  all  men  who  have  any  curiosity  about 
historical  and  literary  knowledge,  and  to  fix  upon  its  in- 
genious author  the  attention  of  all  the  learned  European 
world.  We  refer  to  the  discovery  of  hieroglyphics  ; one 
of  those  greater  events  which,  so  to  speak,  is  to  resuscitate 
ancient  Egypt  that  has  been  covered  with  the  dust  of  ages, 
and  to  renew,  in  our  own  time,  the  ages  of  the  Pharaohs 
and  of  the  Ptolemies. 

Among  all  the  people  of  antiquity,  none  appear  more 
worthy  of  study  than  the  Egyptians  ; not  even  excepting 
the  Greeks,  brilliant  as  they  were  ; nor  the  Romans,  the 
conquerors  of  the  world.  The  little  that  we  know  of  the 
ancient  history  of  Egypt,  is  still  sufficient  to  excite  our 
liveliest  interest,  and  to  give  us  elevated  conceptions  of 
a people,  who  impressed  upon  all  their  institutions  the 
marks  of  that  profound  wisdom  by  which  they  were  char- 
acterized, and  to  which  the  sacred  writers  have  themselves 
1 


2 


done  honor.*  Their  temples,  their  pyramids,  their  obe- 
lisks, their  colossal  statues,  their  magnificent  cemeteries, 
their  paintings  whose  colors  and  freshness  time  seems  to 
have  respected,  all  their  monuments,  in  a word  from  the 
amulet  to  the  most  gigantic  edifices,  from  the  dwellings  of 
the  gods  or  kings  down  to  the  most  common  object  em- 
ployed in  the  domestic  occupations  of  the  poor,  all  serve 
strongly  to  impress  our  imaginations  with  their  grandeur, 
or  to  astonish  us  with  the  fineness  and  delicacy  of  their 
details.  In  fine,  all  that  we  know  of  the  Egyptians  leads 
us  to  the  opinion,  that  they  were  a nation  great,  strong, 
and  very  much  advanced  in  civilization,  while  other  re- 
markable nations  of  antiquity  were  but  barbarian  hordes  ; 
everything  inspires  us  with  a profound  admiration  of  them  ; 
everything  leads  us  to  desire  a better  knowledge  of  their 
history,  their  usages,  and  manners. 

But  obstacles,  which  were  regarded  until  our  day  as 
insurmountable,  have  opposed  the  natural  desire  of  more 
completely  knowing  this  people  so  illustrious  and  renown- 
ed for  wisdom.  No  historian  of  ancient  Egypt  has  come 
down  to  us  ; and  Grecian  authors,  many  of  whom  wrote 
much  about  Egypt,  have  left  frequent  gaps  in  their  histo- 
ries, and  excited  our  curiosity  to  know  the  events  which 
are  not  related.  Sometimes  these  historians  were  stran- 
gers to  the  people  whom  they  wished  to  portray,  and  a 
failure  to  verify  the  truth  of  their  descriptions,  has  render- 
ed them  suspected.  It  wTas  believed  that  the  monuments 
which  cover  the  Egyptian  soil,  presented  many  precious 
pages  of  a history  far  more  complete  and  certain.  Unfor- 
tunately these  monuments,  so  interesting  in  many  other 
respects,  remained,  in  relation  to  their  inscriptions,  unde- 
ciphered enigmas,  whose  mysterious  characters  baffled  the 

*And  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians. 
Acts  vii.  22. 


3 


attempts  of  science  to  unriddle  them,  and  were  only  objects 
of  useless  regret. 

Now,  these  ancient  and  irrefutable  witnesses  have  ceased 
to  be  mute.  The  patience  and  sagacity  of  a modern  inves- 
tigator have  succeeded  in  making  them  speak,  and  they 
seem  ready  to  disclose  all  those  interesting  facts  of  which 
they  have  been  for  so  long  a time  the  depositaries.  A new 
and  abundant  mine  opens  upon  us  from  amidst  the  mag- 
nificent ruins  of  the  Pharaohs’  splendor  ; and  the  Egyp- 
tian archaeology,  so  little  advanced  even  down  to  our  day, 
may  hope  henceforth  to  explore,  with  a success  to  which 
it  had  not  before  even  dared  to  pretend,  the  temples,  the 
palaces,  and  the  hypogeums*  of  Memphis  and  of  Thebes. 

There  is  no  person  who  cannot  comprehend,  on  the  first 
view,  the  manner  in  which  this  unexpected  discovery  of 
meaning  in  the  Egyptian  writings,  affects  a large  circle  of 
human  knowledge.  It  will  affect  the  arts,  which  were  far 
advanced  in  ancient  Egypt  ; it  will  affect  the  sciences,  for 
these  were  known  and  some  were  carried  to  a great  extent  ; 
literature  itself  will  be  enriched  with  new  treasures,  but 
especially  the  different  branches  of  historical  study  will 
receive  positive  and  numerous  accessions  from  the  new 
discoveries  in  Egypt.  It  is  less  easy  to  determine,  on  first 
observation,  all  that  will  be  interesting  in  relation  to 
revealed  religion.  Yet  this  religion,  built  upon  facts,  and 
proved  by  facts,  will  claim  its  share  in  the  results  of  this 
discovery.  It  ought  to  draw  from  thence  new  acquisitions 
for  the  interpretation  of  the  sacred  Books,  new  arms  to 
defend  them  against  the  attacks  of  adversaries,  and  new 
vouchers  to  be  added  to  a multitude  of  others,  that  the 
reverence  of  Christians  for  the  sacred  deposits  of  revela- 
tion, and  their  faith  in  them,  may  be  still  more  confirmed. 

* Buildings,  or  parts  of  buildings,  under  ground  ; from  the  Greek 
'vnôya  lov. — Tr. 


4 


This  thought  brings  to  view  the  great  object  of  our  work. 
It  will  be  developed  and  established,  by  presenting  the 
special  results  which  sacred  criticism  derives  from  Egyp- 
tian writings,  and  from  numerous  facts  which  it  has  led 
us  to  observe. 

But,  as  the  title  announces,  this  Essay  naturally  divides 
itself  into  two  distinct  parts,  although  they  have  a connec- 
tion. In  the  first  part,  which  will  consist  of  a sort  of  intro- 
duction, we  shall  trace  briefly  the  observations  and  the 
process  which  led  to  a discovery  so  long  vainly  sought  for  ; 
and  then  explain  certain  principles  of  the  hieroglyphic 
system  which  it  has  established.  We  intend  to  proceed 
in  this  way,  in  imitation  of  the  learned  man  who  guides 
us,  successively  employing  the  analytic  method  which 
discloses  the  facts,  and  then  the  synthetic  method,  which 
arranges  the  materials  and  puts  them  together  in  a sy&* 
tematic  manner.  Such  an  explanation  becomes  necessary, 
in  order  that  we  may  be  intelligible  to  our  readers  ; since 
Egyptian  writings,  and  especially  hieroglyphics , form 
the  basis  of  those  facts  which  we  shall  study  in  their  rela- 
tion to  the  holy  Books.  The  brief  but  exact  notions 
which  they  exhibit,  will  be  sufficient  for  those  men  of  let- 
ters who  cannot  remain  strangers  to  the  progress  of  human 
knowledge,  but  who,  not  devoting  themselves  with  particu- 
larity to  the  study  of  antiquity,  have  not  leisure  to  go  to 
sources  which  are  more  profound,  and  much  more  difficult 
of  access.* 

The  second  part  will  be  devoted  to  making  those  colla- 
tions, which  form  the  special  aim  of  our  work.  Some  of 

* We  would  recommend  here  to  those  of  our  readers  who  have  not 
specially  studied  this  subject,  a very  excellent  article  in  No.  22,  of 
the  Revue  Britannique , entitled  Interpretation  des  Hiéroglyphes. 
Another  translation  has  appeared  in  print,  but  that  to  which  we  refer, 
although  it  abridges  the  English  text  in  some  parts,  has  the  advan- 
tage  of  notes  which  correct  the  errors  of  the  author  (Mr.  Brown), 


5 


the  numerous  facts,  which  the  study  of  Egyptian  monu- 
ments with  the  aid  of  the  hieroglyphic  system  has  devel- 
oped, will  be  applied  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  some  of 
those  portions  which  relate  to  Eg|pt,  and  they  will  shed 
much  light  upon  these  passages  of*  the  sacred  annals.  We 
shall  endeavor  to  accomplish  this  work  with  all  the  pre- 
cision and  simplicity  possible  in  researches  which  are 
necessarily  scientific,  but  which  are  of  high  interest  on 
account  of  their  tendency  ; and  it  is  on  this  account  only, 
that  we  present  them  writh  such  confidence. 

A religion  whose  origin  is  from  above,  is  without  doubt 
safe  from  the  vain  attacks  of  a few  blinded  men  ; and, 
while  it  has  been  defended  for  so  many  centuries  by  the 
most  powerful  minds  that  have  shed  a lustre  upon  the 
sciences  and  upon  literature,  it  scarcely  needs  our  weak 
defence.  Yet  it  is  consoling  to  a Christian,  to  witness 
the  amazing  progress  of  human  knowledge.  The  mind  is 
ever  attaining  to  new  truths,  and  is  confirming  the  remark 
so  often  quoted  from  a celebrated  English  Chancellor,  a 
remark  which  applies  as  well  to  revealed  as  to  natural 
religion,  of  which  Christianity  is  but  the  development  ; 
Lev  es  gustus  in  philosophia  mover  e fortasse  ad  atheismum , 
sed  pleniores  haustus  ad  religionem  reducer e ;*  i.  e.  superfi- 
cial knowledge  in  philosophy  may  perhaps  lead  to  atheism, 
but  a f undamental  knowledge  will  lead  to  religion. 

* Bacon,  de  Augmentis  Scientiarum,  Lib.  I. 

1 * 


PART  I, 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHIC  SYSTEM  OF 
CHAMPOLLION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

STATE  OF  THE  STUDY  OF  HIEROGLYPHICS  DOWN  TO  THE 
PRESENT  TIME. 

Knowledge  of  hieroglyphics  among  the  Egyptians.  Among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans.  Labors  of  the  moderns  upon  hieroglyphics.  Discovery 
of  the  polyglott  monument  at  Rosetta. 

Before  we  give  an  account  of  the  discovery  of  hiero- 
glyphics, and  explain  the  system,  it  appears  necessary  to 
cast  a few  glances  backward,  to  consider  the  knowledge 
which  the  ancients  had  upon  this  subject,  and  the  re- 
searches which  have  been  made  by  moderns  to  obtain  an 
acquaintance  with  it.  This  examination  we  design  to 
pursue  in  the  present  chapter. 

1.  It  has  been  said,  and  has  been  repeated,  and  the 
opinion  has  been  accredited,  that  the  hieroglyphic  writing 
was  a mysterious  science,  the  secret  of  which  was  known 
only  to  the  priests  of  Egypt,  and  by  them  was  solicitously 
and  religiously  concealed  from  the  curiosity  of  the  profane 
multitude.  This  opinion,  deprived  at  last  of  all  support, 
is  now  abandoned,  and  the  fact  is  universally  known  that 
this  writing,  though  called  sacred,  in  itself  veiled  no  mys- 
tery, and  that  it  must  have  been  understood  by  every  well- 
educated  Egyptian.  This  is  no  new  truth.  It  may  be 


7 


learned  from  the  writings  of  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who 
has  formally  announced  it  in  a remarkable  passage  of  his 
Stromata , (Lib.  v.  tom.  ii.  p.  657)  ; and  who  is  the 
only  ancient  author  from  whom  we  derive  any  exact 
notions  concerning  Egyptian  writing.*  Upon  these 
notions  we  shall  hereafter  remark.  It  would,  indeed, 
have  been  absurd,  to  cover  with  inscriptions,  as  the  Egyp- 
tians did,  not  only  their  public  edifices,  but  their  monu- 
ments of  every  kind,  and  even  their  simple  household  uten- 
sils, if  these  inscriptions  were  designed  to  be  unintelligible  to 
all  except  those  who  were  included  in  the  sacerdotal  order. 
However,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  from  the  testimony 
of  antiquity,  that  a peculiar  system  of  writing  did  in  fact 
exist,  with  which  only  the  priests  and  those  initiated  into 
their  mysteries  were  acquainted  ; and  perhaps  it  is  found 
in  those  allegorical  bas-reliefs , which,  after  Clement  of 
* Alexandria,  are  called  anaglyphs  ; f a kind  of  monuments 
which,  from  the  nature  of  the  objects  traced  upon  them, 
cannot  be  deciphered.  But  farther  ; the  constituent  prin- 
ciples of  the  hieroglyphic  method  were  not,  in  ancient 
times,  very  difficult  to  be  understood,  most  of  its  signs  being 
very  simple,  and  those  which  were  not  so  being  few  in 
number  ; and  this  remark  furnishes  another  proof,  that  a 
knowledge  of  it,  at  this  epoch,  was  very  generally  diffused 
among  all  individuals  who  received  a decent  education,  to 
whatever  caste  they  might  belong.  [See  Appendix  A.] 

*It  is  singular,  that  a father  of  the  church  should  have  preserved 
the  only  exact  documents  relating  to  the  system  of  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics. This  is  not,  however,  the  only  obligation  of  such  a kind 
which  profane  erudition  owes  to  ecclesiastical  literature.  It  owes 
much  besides  this,  to  Clement  of  Alexandria,  to  the  ancient  apolo- 
gists, to  Eusebius,  and  especially  to  the  admirable  work  of  Augustine, 
De  civitate  Dei. 

t See  the  Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique,  by  Champollion,  pp. 
348  and  426  ; we  refer  always  to  the  second  edition. 


8 


But  at  a much  later  period,  Egypt,  having  become  Chris- 
tian, gradually  relinquished  its  ancient  methods  of  writing, 
which  were  too  strongly  united  with  its  ancient  worship 
ever  to  survive  it.  She  adopted  the  Grecian  alphabet,  still 
preserving,  with  some  modifications,  a few  national  charac- 
ters which  were  indispensable  in  order  conveniently  to 
designate  certain  sounds  or  inflections  of  the  voice.  In 
this  way  the  Coptic  language  was  formed,  that  precious 
relic  of  the  old  Egyptian  tongue,  from  which  it  appears  to 
differ  only  in  the  characters  of  its  alphabet,  and  in  the 
frequent  adoption  of  Greek  expressions,  particularly  those 
which  relate  to  religious  ideas  and  to  the  mysteries  of 
Christianity.  The  identity  of  these  two  languages,  already 
observed  by  many  learned  men,  has  been  demonstrated  by 
Qnatremère,*  and  admits  of  no  doubt.  The  natural  con- 
sequences of  this  change  in  the  graphic  signs,  of  course 
ensued.  The  ancient  writings,  now  become  useless,  wrere 
in  practice  wholly  neglected  ; consequently,  all  those  con- 
sistent and  well  digested  principles  which  use  had  sanc- 
tioned, were  lost  sight  of  ; and  at  length  the  signs  themselves 
became  totally  unintelligible.  We  may  well  be  astonished 
that  the  celebrated  School  of  Alexandria  should  have  been, 
at  this  period,  absolutely  silent  about  this  part  of  ancient 
usages.  It  is  certain  that  they  have  left  us  no  notice  of 
the  subject.  Perhaps  it  was  owing  to  their  exclusive  occu- 


* The  work  of  Quatremère  is  entitled,  Recherches  ciitiques  et  his- 
toriques sur  la  Langue  et  la  Littérature  de  V Égypte.  Paris,  1808.  8vo. 

One  can  see  in  what  wa}'  the  study  of  the  Coptic  has  become  impor- 
tant to  Egyptian  archaeology.  In  this  language,  now  dead  and  totally 
unknown  in  the  country  where  it  was  spoken,  there  are,  besides  a 
version  of  the  Bible,  only  a few  hagiographal  [i.  e.  sacred]  writings 
and  liturgie  [i.  e.  relating  to  the  Liturgy]  works.  But,  although  the 
language  has  doubtless  lost  many  old  Egyptian  words,  it  still  acquaints 
us  with  a considerable  number  of  Egyptian  texts.  To  this  subject  wo 
shall  hereafter  refer. 


9 


pation  with  other  sciences,  that  they  neglected  this  so  in- 
teresting, and  in  some  respects  national,  study  ; perhaps 
they  may  have  labored  upon  it,*  and  their  works  have 
been  lost  to  us  by  the  fatal  destruction  of  the  immense 
library,  where  so  many  other  documents  of  history  were 
consumed,  f [See  App.  B.] 

2.  In  regard  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  it  is  more 
difficult  to  determine  how  far  they  understood  writings 
which  were  so  very  diverse  from  those  of  other  nations. 
Well  attested  facts  lead  us  to  believe,  that  they  remained 
always  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  hieroglyphics.  We  say 
hieroglyphics  ; for  it  appears  evident  that  the  Greeks, 
under  the  domination  of  the  Lagidae,  J were  acquainted 
with  the  demotic  [i.  e.  popular]  writing  of  the  Egyptians, 
because  official  translators  lived  among  them,  who  trans- 
lated various  acts  or  contracts  from  the  Egyptian  writing 
into  the  Greek,  and  vice  versa.  Champollion  Figeac  has 
discovered  them  in  the  antigraphs  [i.  e.  copies]  described 
upon  certain  papyri.  One  law  cited  in  a papyrus , declares 
contracts  between  certain  persons  to  be  of  no  authority 


* Cheremon,  an  Egyptian,  wrote  a book  on  this  subject  ; but  it  is 
not  preserved.  See  Essai  historique  sur  V École  <T Alexandria,  by 
Mr.  Matter,  tom.  ii.  p.  221. 

f When  our  attention  is  fixed  upon  ancient  Egypt,  it  is  then  espe- 
cially that  we  have  reason  to  deplore  the  disastrous  conflagration  of 
the  library  of  the  Ptolemies,  which  was  more  destructive  to  history 
than  to  any  other  science.  When  we  recollect  that  the  burning  of 
thi3  royal  collection  of  human  knowledge,  heated  for  six  months  the 
baths  of  Alexandria,  we  have  some  idea  of  the  boundless  riches  it 
must  have  possessed  ; and  if  we  cannot  be  consoled  even  for  the  loss 
of  some  poems,  orations,  and  treatises  on  geometry,  how  deep  must 
be  our  regret  for  the  irreparable  injury  which  history  has  suffered, 
through  the  fanaticism  of  the  savage  Omar  ! 

JThe  surname  of  the  Macedonian  kings  of  Egypt.  It  was  trans- 
mitted from  Ptolemy  the  son  of  Lagus,  who  succeeded  Alexander  and 
was  the  first  of  the  Macedonian  kings,  to  all  of  his  descendants  on 
the  Egyptian  throne  till  the  reign  of  Cleopatra,  Antony’s  mistress. — Tr. 


10 


in  courts  of  justice,  unless  a copy  of  them  existed  in  the 
original  Egyptian,  the  antigraph  or  Greek  copy  not  being 
sufficient  for  their  verification.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  the  usual  silence  of  Greek  and  Latin  historians  on 
this  important  subject,  the  looseness  of  the  notions  which 
they  have  transmitted  to  us  respecting  it,  and  the  inaccu- 
racy of  the  few  details  into  which  they  have  gone,  strongly 
prove  that  they  were  unacquainted  with  it.  Ought  we  to 
attribute  their  ignorance  to  negligence,  to  levity,  or  to  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  information  from  the  learned  castes  ? 
Shall  we  not  rather  attribute  it  to  an  affected  disdain  of 
the  language  and  usages  of  a people,  who  were  reputed 
barbarous?  Though  we  cannot  decide  these  questions, 
their  ignorance  must  still  surprise  us,  and  may  perhaps 
justly  be  considered  as  without  excuse.  But  waving  this 
consideration,  historians  inform  us  that  the  priests  of  Egypt 
explained  to  travellers,  who  admired  their  edifices,  the 
meaning  of  inscriptions  which  were  engraved  upon  them 
in  sacred  characters  ; and  it  was  this  circumstance  which 
gave  rise  to  the  opinion  that  the  privileged  castes  only 
understood  them.  Herodotus  has  scattered  through  his 
works  many  translations  of  the  inscriptions,  which  are 
not  always  to  be  relied  upon.  Tacitus,  in  describing  the 
voyage  of  Germanicus  in  Egypt,  relates  that  one  of  the 
old  priests  of  Thebes,  being  questioned  by  the  prince  about 
the  magnificent  monuments  of  this  ancient  capital,  pointed 
out  to  him  in  the  inscriptions,’ the  state  of  the  Egyptian 
forces,  and  a tablet  of  the  conquests  of  it  anises,  the  cele- 
brated Pharaoh  Sesostris.  (Ann.  II.  60.) 

3.  Such  are  the  notions  which  we  find  relative  to  the 
state  of  hieroglyphic  knowledge,  at  an  epoch  when  the 
primitive  customs  of  Egypt  had  fallen  into  complete  obli- 
vion. But  when,  with  the  revival  of  letters  and  of  the 
arts,  the  intellectual  regeneration  of  modern  Europe  com' 


11 


menced,  monuments,  as  being  the  records  of  antiquity, 
became  objects  of  interest  and  of  study.  Much  labor 
was  bestowed  upon  those  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  the 
imposing,  the  mysterious  Egypt  could  not  be  neglected, 
but  must  in  turn  excite  the  curiosity  and  the  emulation  of 
the  learned.  And  so  it  was;  the  human  mind  made 
repeated  efforts  to  raise  the  veil  with  which  time  had 
covered  the  history,  the  genius,  the  manners,  the  language, 
and  the  writings  of  those  celebrated  countries  which  were 
formerly  the  cradle  of  civilization.  From  the  sixteenth 
century,  great  exertions  were  made  to  penetrate  the  mean- 
ing of  the  characters  inscribed  upon  the  monuments  of  the 
Pharaohs.  Researches  were  still  more  diligently  made, 
during  the  seventeenth  century  ; and  in  the  eighteenth, 
the  work  was  not  discouraged  by  the  little  success  which 
had  been  previously  experienced.  It  was  reserved,  how- 
ever, for  the  nineteenth  century  to  witness  the  solution  of 
this  important  question  ; and  the  honor  of  the  discovery 
belongs  to  France.*  The  noble  conquest  was  achieved 
at  the  price  of  the  blood  of  her  warriors,  who  reaped  their 
harvest  in  the  plains  of  Memphis. 

As  we  have  before  observed,  the  knowledge  we  gain 
from  antiquity  relative  to  the  writings  of  Egypt,  is  of  small 
extent,  and  of  a very  unsatisfactory  nature.  Some  scat- 
tered passages  in  the  writings  of  Herodotus,  of  Plutarch, 
and  Eusebius  ; a translation  from  the  legends  of  an  obe- 
lisk, which  is  attributed  to  Hermapion  by  Ammius  Mar- 


* Notwithstanding  the  hasty  assertions  of  several  British  journals, 
and  particularly  of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  it  is  certain  in  the  view 
of  every  impartial  man,  that  Dr.  Young  cannot  contest  the  priority 
of  the  discovery  with  Champollion.  (See  the  Précis  du  Système 
hiéroglyphique,  chap,  i.)  These  disputes  however,  excited  by  a 
national  spirit,  are  honorable  to  Champollion.  The  discovery  of 
hieroglyphics  is  contested,  as  of  old  the  honor  of  having  given  birth 
to  Homer  was  disputed  by  the  villages  of  Ionia. 


12 


cellinus  who  has  preserved  it  (xvii.  4)  ; the  little  treatise 
of  Horapollo,  who  has  not  explained  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Egyptian  methods  of  writing,  although 
he  wrote  much  about  them  ; * lastly,  a short  and  some- 
what obscure  passage  in  Clement  of  Alexandria  (Strom. 
edit*  Oxon.  Lib.  v.  tom.  ii.  p.  657),  a passage  which  until 
now  has  not  been  understood  ; f these  composed  all  the 
hieroglyphic  library,  and  with  these  frail  materials  a sys- 
tem was  to  be  established.  Of  course,  every  effort  to 
succeed  in  this  way  failed,  on  account  of  the  barrenness 
of  the  sources,  and  science  was  enriched  with  no  satis- 
factory result.  Those  who  made  the  experiment,  aban- 
doned their  authorities  as  insufficient,  and  followed  their 
imaginations  as  a guide.  They  threw  themselves  into  an 
unbounded  field  of  gratuitous  hypothesis,  imaginary  analo- 
gies, and  etymological  subtilties  ; and  in  the  laborious 
creation  of  chimeras  more  or  less  ingenious,  more  or  less 
absurd,  they  resembled  rather  children  seeking  to  divine 
an  enigma,  than  studious  men  building  a consistent  and 
rational  system  upon  facts.  A man  who  felt  the  dignity 
of  science,  would  be  pained  in  perusing  their  writings  ; 
and  he  would  sometimes  smile  at  the  good-natured  assur- 
ance, I had  almost  said  the  candid  presumption,  with 
which  these  Literati,  in  other  respects  worthy,  construct- 
ed fantastic  edifices,  and  deceived  and  tormented  them- 
selves with  endeavoring  to  explain  ex  jprofesso  wffiat  they 

* Champollion  thinks  that  a considerable  part  of  the  symbolical 
images  indicated  by  Horapollo,  relate  to  those  bas-reliefs  which  have 
no  common  quality  with  the  proper  Egyptian  writings.  To  these  we 
have  before  referred  under  the  name  of  anaglyphs. 

f The  passage  of  Clement  could  not  certainly  he  the  germ  of 
Champollion’s  discovery,  although  it  accords  perfectly  with  the  sys- 
tem of  this  learned  man.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  owing  altogether  to 
the  success  which  has  attended  the  researches  of  Champollion,  that 
the  text  of  the  learned  Father  has  become  intelligible  to  modern 
readers. 


13 


did  not  and  could  not  understand.  Such,  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  a century  of  eminent  learning,  was  the 
method  of  these  pretended  CEdipuses  ; such  especially  was 
that  of  father  Kircher,  the  most  remarkable  of  them  all, 
who,  advancing  beyond  the  bounds  of  moderation,  has  left 
suspicions  to  rest  upon  his  good  faith  and  literary  credit, 
which  have  hardly  been  dissipated  even  to  this  day.* 

The  men  who  studied  this  subject  in  the  following  age, 
were  not  more  scrupulous  than  their  predecessors.  War- 
burton,  who  was  the  most  consistent  and  wise,  was  the 
only  one  who  confined  himself  to  a discussion  of  ancient 
texts  and  to  their  results.  He  appears  to  have  recognized 
the  existence  of  alphabetic  characters , though  he  erred  in 
considering  them  as  the  elements  of  a writing  sui  generis. 
— It  was  a happy  conjecture  ; and  if  followed  out,  it  might 
have  led  the  way  to  a true  discovery.  But  the  learned 
Englishman  pretended  to  frame  only  general  theories,  and 
did  not  seek  to  explain  the  monuments.  Pluche,  who 
adopted  in  relation  to  the  Egyptian  antiquities  a system 
of  allegory  which  at  a later  period  was  very  differently 
applied  by  Dupuis,  appealed  for  the  support  of  his  views 
to  the  Egyptian  monuments  ; but  he  did  not  apply  his 
exaggerated  notions  to  the  interpretation  of  hieroglyphics, 
although  he  saw  in  them  some  emblems. 

The  successors  of  these  men  were  more  presumptuous. 
Unfortunately  Kircher  had  created  a school,  and  his  disci- 


* Kircher  wrote  much  about  Egyptian  antiquities.  The  most  cele- 
brated of  his  works  are  those  entitled  : Prodromus  Coptus,  etc., 
Romæ,  1636,  in4to  ; Lingua  Ægypliacarestituta,  etc.,  Romæ,  1643, 
in  4to,  and  Œdipus  Ægyptiacus  etc.,  Romæ,  1652,  4 vol.  in  fol. 
Jablonski  makes  the  following  remark  about  him  ; Kircher,  who 
always  exhibits  more  ostentation  than  true  learning  ; and  again  : 
He  deceives  his  readers  and  sells  them  smoke.  (Opusc.  tom.  I.  pp. 
157  & 211.)  If  this  judgment  appears  too  severe,  let  the  reader 
consult  the  works  of  the  learned  Jesuit. 

2 


14 


pies  pushed  still  farther  than  the  master,  the  extravagances 
of  imagination.  Thus  the  learned  Count  de  Gebelin, 
abusing  his  great  erudition,  and  torturing  some  Greek, 
Hebrew,  Arabic,  or  Phenician  words,  read  upon  the  coffin 
of  a mummy  an  inscription  as  ridiculous  as  was  his  own 
commentary  upon  it.* * * §  So,  more  recently,  a laborious 
writer  after  collecting  what  he  calls  The  Symbols  of  Na- 
tions, has  found  upon  the  portico  of  a large  temple  at 
Dendera,  a translation  of  the  hundredth  psalm  of  David , 
composed  to  invite  all  people  to  enter  into  the  house  of 
the  LordA  So  also,  with  perhaps  still  greater  extrava- 
gance, it  has  been  pretended  that  hieroglyphics,  con- 
sidered as  simple  letters,  expressed  Hebrew  words  ; { as 
if  it  was  not  known  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  had  a 
language  of  their  own,  which  exists  for  the  most  part  now 
in  the  idiom  and  books  of  the  Coptic.  All  these  aberra- 
tions, which  would  have  abased  learning  if  true  learning 
were  not  beyond  the  reach  of  being  abased,  had  produced 
a deplorable  effect.  So  many  useless  attempts  had  dis- 
couraged the  learned  ; and  as  Jthe  true  restorer  of  the 
hieroglyphic  science  well  observes,  “ One  single  opinion 
appeared  well  established,  viz.  that  it  was  impossible  ever 
to  acquire  that  knowledge,  which  had  hitherto  been  sought 
with  great  labor  and  in  vain/’  § 

Other  causes  still  have  been  assigned,  why  Egyptian 
studies  made  no  progress  until  our  own  time.  Monuments 
which  contained  hieroglyphics,  and  especially  royal  car- 
touches, ||  were  few  in  number  and  little  known  ; and 

* This  letter  of  Gebelin’s,  an  incoherent  collection  of  learning  and 
absurdities,  can  be  found  in  the  Recueil  cT  antiquités  of  La  Sau- 
vagère,  p.  361. 

■f-  De  V Étude  des  hiéroglyphiques . Paris,  1822,  5 vols,  in  12mo. 

| Essai  sur  les  hiéroglyphiques  Egyptiens.  Bordeaux,  1821. 

§ Précis  du  système  hiéroglyphique,  p.  14. 

||  This  word  means,  a kind  of  ovals  or  rings  in  which  the  name  of 
sovereigns  were  placed,  in  order  to  distinguish  them  from  other  parts 
of  a legend. — Tr. 


15 


besides,  the  designs  or  engravings  of  them  were  executed 
with  so  little  care  and  fidelity,  that  those  characters  which 
should  have  been  delineated  with  the  most  perfect  accu- 
racy, were  totally  obscure,  and  they  could  furnish  no  just 
idea  of  the  systems  of  writing  which  were  the  object  of 
study.  This  is  the  fault  of  the  plates  of  Kircher’s  volu- 
minous works,  of  father  Montfaucon’s,  and  also  of  those 
of  the  Count  de  Caylus,  notwithstanding  he  was  versed  in 
the  art  of  designing.  But  the  epoch  at  which  he  lived 
was  an  unfortunate  one,  and  arts  like  manners  were  in  a 
state  of  shameful  degradation.  Now,  the  state  of  things 
in  both  these  respects,  is  very  different.  Since  the  memo- 
rable expedition  of  the  French  army,  Europe  has  received 
in  the  illustrious  researches  of  modern  travellers,  in  the 
recent  compacts  with  the  new  government  of  Egypt,  and 
in  the  better  appreciation  of  the  Egyptian  monuments,  an 
augmentation  of  resources  which  would  astonish  us,  if  we 
did  not  know  that  the  catacombs  of  Egypt  furnish  a mine 
that  is  exhaustless.  In  becoming  more  common,  the 
monuments  have  of  course  become  more  accessible,  either 
in  private  museums,  or  in  the  magnificent  collections 
made  by  sovereigns  to  establish  and  extend  their  glory. 
Finally,  owing  to  the  progress  of  the  arts  of  design  and  of 
engraving,  and  to  the  precious  discovery  of  lithography, 
the  plates  wrhich  accompany  descriptive  works,  are  now 
true  fac  similes  of  the  monuments.  Such  especially  are 
most  of  those  in  the  magnificent  work  on  Egypt,  which 
was  executed  at  the  expense  of  the  French  government, 
and  in  the  publications  of  Mr.  Dubois. 

4.  The  monument  which  finally  led  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  ancient  writings  of  Egypt,  was  discovered  at  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  While  the  French  troops  were 
carrying  on  the  war  in  Egypt,  and  a commission  of  learned 
men,  associated  with  the  expedition,  were  exploring  this 
ancient  country  with  a view  to  advance  the  arts  and  sci- 


IG 


ences,  one  division  of  the  army  occupied  the  village  of 
R as  chid,  which  we  call  Rosetta,  and  were  employed  in 
laboring  upon  some  military  works.  While  digging  the 
foundations  of  the  fort  St.  Julien,  they  found  a large 
mutilated  block  of  black  basalt,  which  was  covered  with 
a considerable  portion  of  three  inscriptions  in  different 
characters.  One  of  the  inscriptions,  written  in  Greek, 
contained  a decree  in  honor  of  Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  and 
suggested  the  idea  that  the  same  decree  was  the  subject 
of  the  two  other  inscriptions,  which  were  written  in  two 
distinct  kinds  of  Egyptian  characters,  the  sacred  or  hiero- 
glyphic, and  the  enchorial  * or  common  character  of  the 
country;  IE  P 012  KAI  ETXSIPIOI2  KAI  E A AHN IK- 
012  r PAMMA 2 IN.  This  curious  monument  soon  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  by  the  capitulation  of  Alex- 
andria; and  being  transported  to  London,  was  afterwards 
placed  in  the  British  Museum,  f But  although  it  was  lost 
to  France  by  the  chances  of  war,  it  was  by  no  means  lost 
to  science.  Having  been  delineated  at  that  time  by  many 
ingenious  men,  it  was  finally  exhibited  in  an  engraving, 
which  was  circulated  abroad  to  exercise  the  penetration 
of  learned  men.  [See  App.  C.] 

Although  the  inscriptions  on  the  stone  found  at  Rosetta 
were  mutilated  by  a fracture,  still  it  is  easily  perceived 
how  a polyglott  monument  of  such  a kind  throws  light 
upon  the  writings  of  ancient  Egypt,  since  it  contrasts  the 
Egyptian  texts  with  a Greek  inscription  containing  a 
translation  of  them.  This  Greek  inscription  has  been 
commented  upon  and  illustrated  by  many  learned  men, 

* It  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel,  that  this  second  kind  of  writing  has 
other  names  still  among  Greek  authors. 

f The  English  took  from  France  many  other  monuments  which 
were  procured  in  Egypt.  Among  the  rest,  they  took  the  beautiful 
sarcophagus  commonly  called  the  tomb  of  Alexander,  upon  which 
Messrs.  Yorke  & Leake,  who  applied  Champollion’s  system  to  the 
Egyptian  monuments  in  the  British  Museum,  have  discovered  tbs 
name  of  Achoris  or  Uchoreus. 


17 


slid  among  the  rest  by  our  countryman  Mr.  Ameilhon.* 
As  the  enchorial  writing  was  supposed  to  be  alphabetic,  a 
collation  of  this  part  of  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  with 
the  Greek,  was  commenced  first.  But  the  result  did  not 
answer  the  expectation.  The  learned  Silvester  de  Sacy 
devoted  himself  to  the  examination  with  some  success.! 
He  was  able,  at  last,  to  read  some  of  the  proper  names 
which  are  numerous  in  the  inscription,  and  he  recom- 
posed, in  this  way,  some  portions  of  the  enchorial  alphabet. 
Akerblad  of  Sweden  went  much  farther  ; \ but  he  mistook 
in  attempting  to  find  the  vowels,  which  are  often  sup- 
pressed in  the  Egyptian  texts.  Thus  only  a few  facts 
were  discovered  relative  to  this  enchorial  system  of  wri- 
ting ; and  the  knowledge  of  the  proper  hieroglyphic  signs 
did  not  advance  one  step.  Those  who  attempted  to  dis- 
cover their  meaning  by  means  of  the  Rosetta  monument, 
fell  into  the  old  path  which  their  predecessors  had  followed, 
or  rather  they  were  not  able  to  proceed  ; and  all  their 
efforts  to  find  any  sort  of  agreement  between  the  hiero- 
glyphic inscription  and  the  text  of  the  decree  in  Greek, 
ended  in  conjectures  as  hazardous,  and  in  systems  as 
inconsistent,  as  those  which  sprung  from  the  reckless 
imagination  of  Kircher  and  his  disciples.  No  stronger 
proof  of  this  is  needed,  than  the  simple  fact  of  a belief 
that  the  hieroglyphic  inscription  wras  entire,  as  was  very 
nearly  the  Greek  inscription  ; when  it  is  now  known  that 
a considerable  portion  of  the  first,  as  well  as  its  translation 
in  the  enchorial  writing,  were  unfortunately  destroyed  by 
the  mutilation  of  the  monument  as  above  mentioned. 

* Éclair cissemens  sur  V inscription  Grecque  du  monument 
trouvé  à Rosette.  Paris  an  xi.  (1803)  in  4to. 

f Lettre  au  cit.  Chaptal , ministre  de  V intérieur  etc  , au  sujet 
de  V inscription  Egyptienne  du  monument  trouvé  à Rosette.  Paris, 
an  x.  (1802)  in  8vo. 

X Lettre  sur  V inscription  Egyptienne  de  Rosette.  Paris,  an  x. 
(1802),  in  8vo. 

2* 


CHAPTER  IL 


DISCOVERY  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHICS. 

Labors  of  Champollion.  Foreign  names  upon  the  Egyptian  monuments. 

Royal  cartouches,  name  of  Ptolemy.  Obelisk  of  Philoe,  name  of  Cleo- 
patra. Phonetic  alphabet. 

Having  adverted  to  the  fruitless  attempts  which  were 
long  made  to  penetrate  the  mystery  surrounding  the  an- 
cient writings  of  Egypt,  we  come  at  length  to  more  fortu- 
nate results,  and  we  shall  now  describe  the  manner  in 
which  one  of  our  countrymen  succeeded  in  tearing  away 
the  thick  veil,  that  for  ages  had  covered  the  most  illus- 
trious people  of  antiquity. 

1.  The  monument  of  Rosetta  was  not  destined  always 
to  deceive  the  hopes  which  it  had  inspired.  After  having 
been  devoted  to  the  spirit  of  hypothesis,  and  having  been 
tortured  in  a manner  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  princi- 
ples of  true  criticism  and  of  sound  judgment,  it  was 
for  a long  time  abandoned  by  learned  men.  They  were 
discouraged  by  the  numerous  difficulties  which  encom- 
passed their  path,  and  the  inscriptions  which  at  first  were 
an  object  of  so  much  study,  were  now,  so  to  speak,  buried 
in  oblivion. 

A young  student  in  the  mean  time  arose,  who,  prepared 
by  an  excellent  education,  and  guided  by  a noble  emula- 
tion and  rare  sagacity,  began  immediately  by  means  of 


19 


Jacts  to  reverse  all  the  old  doctrines  concerning  hiero- 
glyphics, and  to  introduce  in  the  place  of  the  vague  theo- 
ries which  had  previously  obtained,  a positive,  methodical, 
and  lucid  system.  Champollion  fortunately  had  been 
occupied  with  the  different  branches  of  Egyptian  history. 
He  had  perceived  what  advantages  the  Coptic  language 
and  literature  would  furnish,  in  researches  with  respect 
to  the  systems  of  writing  which  were  in  use  among  the 
old  Egyptians  ; and  making  these  almost  the  sole  aim  of 
his  literary  labors,  he  had  studied  them  with  ardor  and 
perseverance.  He  had  already  reaped  much  benefit  from 
this  study  in  investigating  the  Géographie  Egyptienne  of 
Egypt,  as  he  terms  it,  and  he  had  delighted  the  public 
with  a volume  containing  the  first  part  of  his  Egypte  sous 
les  Pharaons  ; * a remarkable  work,  especially  when  we 
consider  the  youth  of  its  author.  The  fruitlessness  of 
former  investigations  had  not  terrified  him.  He  had  the 
boldness  to  try  again,  what  had  so  many  times  been  tried 
before  ; but  he  followed  a different  method,  and  the  Ro- 
setta inscription  studied  with  an  unyielding  constancy,  at 
last  disclosed  the  track,  and  revealed  to  him  the  secret,  of 
the  hieroglyphic  writing. 

It  had  been  the  general  belief  until  now,  that  the  hiero- 
glyphic writing  was  exclusively  ideographic , i.  e.  figurative 
or  symbolical,  and  that  each  of  the  signs  it  employed,  ex- 
pressed of  itself  an  idea.  This  opinion  appeared  the  better 
founded,  because  it  agreed  with  the  views  of  those  ancient 
writers  who  had  left  a few  scraps  relative  to  the  subject. 
Being  struck  particularly  with  the  circumstance  which 
distinguished  one  Egyptian  method  of  writing  from  those 
to  which  they  were  accustomed,  these  writers  always  at- 
tached less  interest  to  modes  of  writing  which  they  had  in 
common  with  otljer  people  ; and  this  is  the  reason,  doubt- 


Première  partie,  Géographie.  Paris,  1814,  2 vol.  in  8vo. 


20 


less,  why  they  have  never  spoken  except  of  the  ideographic 
part  of  the  Egyptian  monumental  writing.  They  are 
entirely  silent  about  any  other,  nor  have  they  written  a 
single  syllable,  from  which  the  use  of  an  alphabetic  writing 
in  Egypt  could  be  conjectured. * It  required  deep  reflec- 
tion, then,  to  attain  to  the  idea  of  its  existence.  The 
observing  and  penetrating  mind  of  Champollion  soon  per- 
ceived that  the  ideographic  system,  in  its  fullest  extent, 
must  necessarily  admit  of  exceptions  ; since  it  could  not 
express  proper  names , which  do  not  always  convey  an 
idea  that  is  capable  of  being  expressed,  [i.  e.  are  not  always 
significant]  ; nor  especially  foreign  names,  which,  being 
destitute  of  any  relation  to  a particular  spoken  language, 
could  not  be  represented  by  conventional  signs.  To  sup- 
ply this  insufficiency  of  the  supposed  hieroglyphic  method, 
it  was  indispensably  necessary  to  recur  to  a system  of 
writing  analagous  to  that  in  use  among  other  nations.  It 
was  thought  that  there  must  exist  among  the  Egyptians, 
characters  or  phonetic  signs,  that  is,  signs  which  should 
in  some  way  express  the  sounds  of  the  spoken  language. 
Having  obtained  this  idea,  which  could  not  prove  falla- 
cious, Champollion  undertook  to  establish  it  by  a very 
natural  process.  He  applied  it  to  the  hieroglyphic  and 
Greek  inscriptions  on  the  stone  from  Rosetta. 

3.  In  the  Greek  text  of  the  decree  the  name  of  Ptolemy 
often  occurred,  and  many  other  proper  names  which  were 
foreign  to  the  Egyptian  language.  So  in  the  hieroglyphic 
inscription,  a group  of  signs  were  observed  to  be  frequently 
repeated,  which  were  contained  in  the  ovals  or  rings 
called  cartels  or  cartouches.  By  this  last  mark  of  dis- 

♦Clement  of  Alexandria  described,  it  is  true,  this  part  of  hiero- 
glyphic writing  ; but  in  a manner  extremely  concise,  and  which  was 
not  understood.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  remark,  that 
his  text  relative  to  this  important  subject,  could  not  be  understood  in 
the  then  state  of  Egyptian  studies. 


21 


tinction,  as  well  as  by  its  relative  position  in  the  text,  the 
hieroglyphic  group  appeared  to  correspond  with  the  name 
of  Ptolemy,  Uioleyaiog  in  the  Greek  inscription.  It  might 
then  be  supposed  with  very  great  probability,  that  the  signs 
clustered  in  the  ring  or  cartouche,  expressed  phonetically 
the  name  of  this  prince  ; * and  this  conjecture  led  to  the 
expectation,  that  in  decomposing  the  group  to  which  such 
a signification  was  attributed,  some  of  those  first  elements 
of  alphabetic  writing  which  were  sought,  might  be  found. 

Champollion  proceeded  to  analyse  the  hieroglyphic 
group  which  he  supposed  to  designate  the  name  of  Ptole- 
my; and  noting  each  of  the  signs  which  composed  it,  he 
believed  that  he  recognized  signs  which  were  the  equiva- 
lents of  the  letters  77.  T.  O.  A.  M.  H.  &,  2}  which,  when 
united,  make  the  word  IJTOAMH2  (Ptolmês).  It  was 
impossible  to  mistake  the  name  of  Ptolemy  (nToXeyatog), 
from  which  the  first  differed  only  by  its  termination,  and 
(in  a manner  common  to  all  writings  in  the  Shemitish 
languages)  by  the  suppression  of  one  of  its  medial  vowels. 
(See  App.  D.) 

Champollion  had  now  obtained  seven  letters,  or  rather 
seven  signs,  of  a phonetic  alphabet,  and  his  happy  success 
inspired  the  hope  of  discovering  others  with  equal  facility. 
This  first  result  however,  satisfactory  as  it  was,  could  not 
appear  to  him  more  than  a conjecture  ; a very  probable 
one  indeed,  but  one  which  nevertheless  belonged  to  the 
class  of  conjectures.  Before  he  advanced  any  farther  in 

*Long  before  the  labors  of  Champollion  and  of  Dr.  Young,  the 
Abbe  Barthélémy  had  conjectured  that  the  cartouches  contained 
proper  names.  (Recueil  d’  antiquités  de  Caylus,  tom.  v.  p.  79.)  The 
learned  Zoëga  had  the  same  idea  ; “ Every  where  about  the  Egyp- 
tian monuments  are  seen  certain  round  or  elliptical  figures , which 
include  (by  way  of  giving  them  importance ) certain  compositions 
of  signs,  expressing  either  the  proper  names  of  persons , or  desig- 
nating the  most  sacred  formulas.”  (De  origine  et  usu  obeliscorum . 
p.  445.)  He  had  before  expressed  the  same  conjecture  (p.  374). 


22 


his  learned  examinations,  prudent  criticism  would  natur- 
ally lead  him  to  prove  the  truth  of  his  first  result,  by  means 
of  some  object  of  comparison.  In  fact,  if  his  solution  of 
the  signs  composing  what  he  believed  to  be  the  name  of 
Ptolemy,  would  not  apply  equally  well  to  any  other  hiero- 
glyphic group,  suppose  for  instance  another  name,  into 
the  composition  of  which  the  very  same  signs  entered  as 
elements,  then  his  solution  must  be  false,  and  he  must 
abandon  a pretended  discovery,  because  his  conjecture 
would  then  no  longer  appear  to  be  well  founded.  But  if, 
on  the  other  hand,  some  of  these  signs  employed  in  a 
group  expressing  a name  otherwise  known , should,  when 
elsewhere  employed,  fulfil  the  same  office  as  before,  i.  e. 
should  there  represent  the  same  letters , the  question  was 
very  evidently  decided.  The  principles  which  he  had 
assumed  would  in  this  way  be  proved  to  be  good,  and  the 
true  sense  of  his  small  number  of  signs  being  confirmed, 
a discovery  might  be  made  of  the  highest  importance. 

But  to  attain  this  end,  a name  otherwise  knoivn  must  be 
analysed,  and  another  bilingual  monument  must  be  found, 
because  the  Rosetta  stone  did  not  afford  means  for  this 
new  application.  Besides  being  irregularly  broken,  and 
in  an  oblique  direction,  it  had  lost  a part  of  the  three 
inscriptions;  but  the  hieroglyphic  text  had  suffered  much 
more  than  the  rest,  and  the  cartouches  enclosing  (as  was 
supposed)  the  proper  names  which  still  remained  upon 
the  inscription,  all  exhibited  the  same  signs,  and  seemed 
to  be  only  repetitions  of  the  name  of  Ptolemy,  at  different 
intervals,  as  they  appeared  in  the  Greek  text. 

4.  Fortunately,  another  monument  supplied  the  defi- 
ciency which  he  deplored,  and  very  seasonably  afforded 
the  necessary  aid.  An  obelisk,  discovered  in  the  island  of 
Philœ  and  transported  to  London,  was  observed  to  have, 
in  its  hieroglyphic  legend,  two  groups  of  signs  enclosed  in 


23 


cartouches.  The  first  group  was  of  no  use,  because  it 
was  a mere  repetition  of  the  name  of  Ptolemy  ; but  the 
second  seemed  to  belong  to  a princess,  and  it  was  supposed 
to  be  the  name  of  Cleopatra.  This  conjecture  was  ripened 
into  certainty  by  the  evidence  from  another  monument, 
belonging  to  the  socle  which  primitively  supported  the  obe- 
lisk. It  was  covered  with  an  inscription  in  Greek,  and 
contained  a supplication  of  the  priests  of  Isis  at  Philce, 
addressed  to  king  Ptolemy , to  the  queen  Cleopatra,  his 
sister , to  the  queen  Cleopatra  his  wife , complaining  of 
vexations  from  certain  magistrates.  A comparison  might 
now  be  made  between  the  hieroglyphic  signs  of  Ptolemy, 
and  those  of  Cleopatra  which  had  several  sounds  in  com- 
mon with  the  former.  To  prove  the  former  analysis,  the 
signs  repeated  in  Cleopatra  ought  to  perform,  like  alpha- 
betic letters,  the  same  functions  which  had  previously 
been  attributed  to  them. 

In  the  same  manner  as  before,  Champollion  read  the 
group  of  the  second  cartouche  in  the  inscription  on  the 
obelisk,  and  there  he  recognized  signs  equivalent  to  the 
letters  IC.  A.  E.  O.  H.  A.  T.  P.  A , which  in  fact  compose 
the  name  of  KAEOTIATPA  ( Cleopatra).  Five  of  these 
letters  were  already  known  from  the  analysis  of  the  name 
T1TOAMH2,  and  were  found  placed  in  a consistent  order, 
in  the  new  group.  These  letters  were  A,  H or  E,  * O, 
and  TI,  which  were  expressed  by  exactly  the  same  figures, 
and  lastly  the  T}  which  was  the  only  letter  that  presented 
a new  form,  and  that  differed  from  what  had  been  before 
observed.  [See  App.  E.] 

Champollion  had  now  made  a great  advance.  He  was 

* As  Egyptian  transcribers  often  neglected  the  vowels,  it  happened 
that  they  sometimes  used  indifferently  one  for  the  other.  It  is  in  this 
way,  that  a sign  which  resembles  two  feathers  or  two  plumes,  and 
which  stands  in  the  cartouche  enclosing  the  name  of  Ptolemy  for  the 
expression  of  H or  AI,  corresponds  with  the  vowels  E,  I,  and  the 
dipthongs  AI,  El. 


24 


confident,  from  this  comparison,  of  the  undoubted  truth  of 
his  system  ; and  what  was  of  still  more  consequence,  he 
had  enriched  his  phonetic  alphabet  with  three  new  charac- 
ters. From  this  time,  then,  he  possessed  twelve  alphabetic 
signs  ; seven  consonants,  K . A.  M.  TI.  P.  2,  two  forms  of 
T}  and  three  vowels,  A , H which  appeared  to  perform 
the  functions  of  the  E and  of  the  dipthong  AIt  and 
lastly  O. 

5.  Encouraged  by  such  success,  Champollion  pursued, 
with  more  ardor  than  ever,  investigations  that  promised 
the  most  happy  results.  Many  other  cartouches,  composed 
in  part  of  alphabetic  elements  which  he  already  knew, 
became  in  turn  subjects  of  a new  experiment,  and  by 
restoring  the  hieroglyphic  names  of  a great  number  of 
Greek  or  Roman  sovereigns,  they  furnished  him  with 
nearly  all  his  phonetic  alphabet,  * and  convinced  him  that 
the  use  of  this  class  of  characters  was  much  less  limited 
than  he  had  first  supposed.  It  was  then  that  he  gave  an 
account  of  his  discovery  and  of  the  first  principles  of  his 
system  in  a letter  to  Mr.  Dacier,  perpetual  secretary  of  the 
Academy  of  Inscriptions  and  of  Belles  Lettres,  dated  the 
22d  of  September,  1822.  This  letter  was  communicated 
by  a copy  to  the  Academy  ; and  being  printed  a short 
time  after  (in  8vo.  52  pages,  with  4 plates),  it  aroused 
the  learned  world  in  respect  to  this  subject,  and  rekindled 
hopes  which  had  been  for  a long  time  extinguished,  f 

These  hopes  were  not  illusory.  Our  learned  country- 
man continued  unceasingly  devoted  to  a profound  exam- 

* In  the  first  alphabetic  table  published  by  Champollion,  there  were 
wanting  only  the  signs  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  Z.  0.  Y. 
\p.  X.  He  has  since  found  the  hieroglyphics  which  express  these 
sounds,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  inflections  of  voice  in  the  Coptic  lan- 
guage. 

f This  important  production,  which  had  become  very  rare,  has 
been  united  to  the  Précis  du  système  hiéroglyphique , in  a second 
edition  of  this  work. 


ination  and  comparison  of  the  hieroglyphic  texts.  The 
inscriptions  of  the  temples,  the  obelisks,  the  coffins  of  the 
mummies,  the  stelæ  [i.  e.  monuments  set  up  in  the  high- 
way, or  tombstones],  the  scarabées  [i.  e.  forms  of  the 
Egyptian  beetle],  the  figurines  [i.  e.  little  figures,  which 
are  accessaries  to  larger  ones],  the  papyri,  in  a word, 
Egyptian  monuments  of  all  kinds  and  of  all  ages,  have 
furnished  him  with  new  facts  in  support  of  his  discovery  ; 
they  have  afforded  the  signs  that  were  wanting  to  complete 
his  phonetic  alphabet,  and  also  a large  number  of  new  signs 
expressing  the  same  sounds , to  which,  after  him,  we  have 
given  the  name  of  homophones .*  In  the  mean  time,  he 
has  not  neglected  other  Egyptian  writings  ; and  his  labors 
upon  those  which  are  extensively  related  to  the  hiero- 
glyphics, have  contributed  not  a little  to  enrich  this 
method  of  writing  with  new  data. 

Champollion,  after  writing  his  observations  in  a com- 
plete and  very  methodical  treatise,  soon  published  his 
Precis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique  ; f a lucid  and  entirely 
new  work,  that  has  now  become  a classic  for  Egyptian 
study.  In  this  important  production,  after  retracing  the 
numerous  facts  which  led  to  the  discovery,  and  demon- 
strating their  certainty,  he  goes  on  to  explain  the  theory 
which  he  has  built  upon  observations  that  are  well  ground- 
ed and  arranged  in  the  best  manner.  No  one  can  be  less 
influenced  by  the  spirit  of  hypothesis,  than  himself.  His 
positions  are  proof  against  the  most  rigorous  criticism,  and 
the  reader  must  yield  to  the  clearness  of  his  method  and 
to  the  evidence  of  his  inductions.  It  is  from  this  source 
and  from  his  Letter  to  M.  Dacier,  that  we  have  drawn, 


* This  word  is  from  the  Greek  ouoyovoi , which  means,  of  the  same 
sound , having  the  same  phonetic  power. — Tr. 

t Two  vols,  in  8vo.  one  of  which  has  plates.  Paris,  royal  printing 
press.  The  first  edition  was  in  1824,  the  second  in  1828. 

3 


26 


substantially,  the  materials  for  our  two  first  chapters.  We 
shall  gather  from  them  likewise  the  substance  of  our  next 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ON  THE  NATURE  OF  EGYPTIAN  WRITINGS. 

Three  kinds  of  writing  among  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Two  orders  of  signs 
in  tiie  hieroglyphic  writing.  Division  of  the  ideographic  signs. 

We  come  at  length  to  the  text  of  Clement  of  Alexan- 
dria, to  which  we  have  often  referred,  as  the  only  docu- 
ment of  any  exactness  that  antiquity  has  bequeathed,  on 
the  subject  of  Egyptian  writings.  In  our  notice  of  it, 
we  shall  consult  M.  Letronne’s  translation,  and  perspicu- 
ous commentary.*  His  perfect  agreement  with  the  results 
obtained  by  Champollion  may  be  easily  seen  ; and  this 
fact  will  doubtless  be,  in  the  minds  of  our  readers,  a 
weighty  argument  in  favor  of  Champollion’ s system. 

1.  In  the  following  passage,  (which  was  so  long  unin- 
telligible on  account  of  the  abstract  nature  of  its  object 
and  the  conciseness  with  which  it  was  treated,  but  which 
has  acquired  new  interest  since  the  discovery  made  by 
Champollion),  the  learned  Father  acquaints  us  first  with 
the  different  kinds  of  writing  in  use  among  the  Egyptians. 
“ Those,”  says  he,  “ among  the  Egyptians,  who  received 

* In  the  first  edition  of  the  Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique, 
Champollion  inserted  a letter  from  M.  Letronne,  of  the  Academy  of 
Inscriptions,  on  the  subject  of  the  text  in  question.  It  has  been  re- 
printed in  the  new  edition  of  the  Précis,  with  some  modifications,  and 
more  full  illustrations.  It  stands  by  itself  under  the  title  of  Examen 
du  texte  de  Clement  d'Alexandrie , etc. 


27 


instruction,  learned  first  of  all  the  kind  of  Egyptian  letters 
called  epistolographic  ; next,  the  hieratic , which  was 
employed  by  the  sacred  writers  ; and  lastly  the  hiero- 
glyphicAviiy-CC  oi  TtClQ  AiyVTCTÎOlÇ  rCCudèVOflEVOl , TtQO)- 
t ov  /iièv  ndvjbiv  Aiyvmib)v  yQuppjdjcvv  péôoôov  èx- 
pav  Od  v overt,  t rjv  EHI2  TO  A Or  PA  <PIKHN  xalovpévijv 
devTEQccv  ôè,  jrj v IEPATIKHN,  rf  /oüvTcn  oi  lEQoyçuppa- 
TEiç • vazdjïjv  ôè  xul  teIevtccîccv  tt\v  ' IEPOrAYd>IKHN . 
(Strom,  v.  p.  657,  ed.  Potter.) 

It  will  doubtless  be  remarked  that  this  classification 
differs  from  that  of  Herodotus  and  Diodorus  Siculus,  who 
distinguished  only  two  kinds  of  characters.  The  first 
calls  them  the  sacred,  i£gd}  and  the  popular,  drjpojtxd. 
(n.  36.)  Diodorus  employs  the  very  same  name  for  the 
first,  ieqd,  and  that  of  ôrjpdÔTj  for  the  other,  (hi.  3.) 
But  it  is  easy  to  reconcile  the  apparent  discrepancies  in 
these  testimonies.  The  kind  of  writing  which  Clement 
calls  epistolographic,  is  the  same  (under  a different 
name)  which  the  two  historians  call  demotic  ; and  which 
the  Greek  inscription  on  the  Rosetta  monument  calls 
enchorial,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  country,  national,  ErxSl- 
PIOI2  rPAMMASIN.  In  regard  to  the  sacred  writ- 
ing, profane  historians,  by  uniting  under  this  denomination 
two  very  distinct  methods  of  writing,  viz.  those  which  are 
called  by  Clement  hieratic  and  hieroglyphic,  seem  to 
have  confounded  them.  This  mistake  was  more  natural 
on  the  part  of  writers  who  did  not  belong  to  Egypt  ; be- 
cause the  Greek  names  of  these  two  classes  of  writing, 
though  they  may  be  differently  applied,  are  still  very 
similar,  and  both  contain  as  a common  element  in  their 
meaning  the  qualification  of  sacred,  ieçd  ; the  word  hie- 
ratic being  composed  of  leqd  with  an  adjective  termina- 
tion merely,  and  the  word  hieroglyphic  literally  signifying 
sacred  engraving,  yhvepri]. 


28 


llero  then  we  have  three  different  methods  of  writing 
formally  announced  by  Clement  ; the  epistolographic 
writing,  (elsewhere  called  the  enchorial  and  the  demo- 
tic) ; the  hieratic  writing  ; and  the  hieroglyphic  writing. 
Champollion  has  recognized  all  three  of  them  upon  the 
old  Egyptian  monuments  ; and  he  perfectly  distinguishes 
them  from  each  other,  although  he  observes  that  they 
have  many  common  principles,  and  are  derived  the  one 
from  the  other.  He  regards  the  hieroglyphic  method  as 
the  primitive  writing,  which  was  gradually  simplified  into 
the  hieratic  ; and  the  latter  in  turn  becoming  more  sim- 
ple in  its  delineation  and  process,  in  order  that  it  might 
be  more  easily  understood  by  the  people,  formed  at  last 
the  demotic  writing.* 

The  demotic  writing,  the  most  flowing  and  simple  of 
the  three,  (which,  admitting  chiefly  phonetic  or  alphabetic 
signs,  is  on  this  account  more  nearly  akin  to  methods  of 
writing  in  use  among  other  nations,  and  will  be  more 
easily  interpreted  when  its  whole  alphabet  is  known),  was 
devoted,  as  its  different  names  prove,  to  the  ordinary 
purposes  of  civil  life.  It  was  the  kind  of  writing  used  in 
decrees  and  in  other  public  acts,  in  letters  missive,  in 
various  contracts  or  special  transactions  ; and  we  possess 
manuscripts  of  this  class.  But  it  was  rarely  employed  on 
monuments.  The  most  remarkable  legend  in  this  writ- 
ing, is  without  doubt  that  upon  the  celebrated  Rosetta 
stone,  which  belongs  to  the  class  of  decrees.  Of  this  we 
have  before  spoken. 

The  hieratic  writing,  less  simple  than  the  demotic , 
differs  from  the  hieroglyphic  in  the  delineation  of  its 
characters,  which  are  a kind  of  reduction,  or  rather  the 
tachygraphy  [i.  e.  the  running  hand]  of  the  hieroglyphic 
signs  to  which  they  correspond.  It  employs  much  fewer 

* Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique , p.  416,  seq. 


29 


ideographic  signs  than  the  hieroglyphic , and  more  than 
the  popular  writing.  But  in  their  phonetic  part,  these 
three  writings  (so  to  speak)  form  but  one,  their  only 
difference  consisting  in  the  differently  formed  signs  which 
they  employ  ; and  as  the  hieratic  writing  is  an  epitome  or 
abridgement  of  the  hieroglyphic , so  likewise  the  demotic 
writing  is  an  abridgement  of  the  hieratic.  The  hieratic 
method,  (which,  as  we  learn  from  Clement,  was  employed 
by  the  hierogrammatists  or  sacred  writers  who  belonged, 
as  it  would  seem,  to  the  sacerdotal  order),  is  the  kind  of 
writing  used  in  many  papyri , especially  in  the  historical 
manuscripts  and  in  the  registers  of  accountability  kept  in 
the  temples,  those  precious  relics  of  Egyptian  antiquity, 
which  have  furnished  its  chronology  with  many  important 
facts,  and  have  shed  much  light  upon  the  numerical  system 
of  this  people.  Hieratic  inscriptions  are  found  also  upon 
the  coffins  of  mummies  and  upon  various  other  monu- 
ments, and  sometimes  upon  the  edifices  of  Egypt.  Those 
inscriptions  upon  the  edifices  which  contain  nothing 
monumental,  must  have  been  traced  by  travellers  who 
formerly  visited  them. 

Champollion,  in  his  Precis  and  in  many  of  his  other 
productions,  has  given  very  interesting  details  upon  the 
two  first  kinds  of  writing,  but  he  has  said  nothing  ex 
professo  ; and  the  observations  which  he  has  published 
contain  only  the  important  elements  of  a system  that  he 
will  hereafter  fully  develope.  We  will  therefore  take  our 
leave  of  these  two  kinds  of  writing,  and  confine  ourselves 
to  the  hieroglyphic  ; a writing  which  we  can  much  more 
completely  understand,  and  about  which  Clement  has  left 
us  some  account. 

2.  “ This  writing,”  continues  this  father,  “ is  of  two 
kinds  ; one  of  these,  the  cyriologic , employs  the  primi- 
tive alphabetic  letters , the  other  is  symbolic;  v;  v yêi> 
3* 


30 


eon  did  tù><  IIP  SIT  UN  2TOIXEISIN  KYPIOAOFIKH , 
dj  ôè  2YMBOAIKH . v.  p.  657.) 

Clement  here  distinguishes  two  kinds  of  hieroglyphic 
writing,  or  rather  two  different  methods  employed  in  the 
same  writing  ; one  which,  according  to  our  modern  modes 
of  writing,  expresses  ideas  by  the  sounds  of  the  words  ; 
and  another  which  makes  use  of  signs  as  symbols  of  ideas. 
With  regard  to  the  last,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  the  sense 
of  the  text  ; let  us  examine  the  expressions  which  charac- 
terize the  first. 

The  word  xvçioloynnj  when  taken  literally  and  as  op- 
posed to  periphrases  and  to  figurative  terms,  is  easily  un- 
derstood. The  only  difficulty,  as  M.  Letronne  remarks, 
is  in  its  relation  to  the  words  aToi/ënop  ttqû tmv.  These 
cannot  mean  any  thing  here  except  the  primitive  letters 
of  the  alphabet  ; for,  although  axoï/ëiov  has  not  strictly 
the  sense  of  letter  like  yçdpycc,  it  has  certainly  the  sense 
of  element , constituent  principle  ; and  in  a text  where 
writing  is  in  question,  its  general  signification  ought 
certainly  to  be  so  modified  that  it  may  convey  the  par- 
ticular meaning  here  given  to  it  by  M.  Letronne.  This 
learned  Hellenist  cites  many  examples  elsewhere  of  the 
use  of  axoï/ëiu  to  express  alphabetic  elements  or  letters, 
and  without  this  interpretation,  the  phrase  of  our  text 
would  make  no  tolerable  sense. 

It  remains  to  see  how  the  word  ngdr i»v  qualifies  the 
meaning  of  axoï/ëiuiv.  There  is  no  need  of  discussing 
here  the  interpretation  which  gives  to  these  terms  the 
sense  of  frst  letters  of  each  ivord;  an  interpretation  upon 
which  the  whimsical  system  of  acrologic  hieroglyphics 
was  founded.*  If  such  had  been  the  meaning  of  Clement 

* This  system,  which  originated  with  M.  de  Goulianoff,  a member 
of  the  Russian  Academy,  has  been  overthrown  in  the  Lettres  sur 
les  hiéroglyphiques,  by  M.  Klaproth.  Paris,  1827.  2 pamphlets  8vo. 


31 


he  would  have  added  something  more  fully  to  designate  it. 
The  word  ngmaDv  has  but  one  plausible  meaning  ; and 
this  is  that  which  M.  Letronne  has  adopted.  He  under- 
stands by  (Tioixeïa  nqôjra,  the  primitive  letters  of  which 
the  Grecian  alphabet  is  composed,  in  distinction  from  the 
secondary  letters  afterwards  added  to  it.  We  ought  to 
remember  here  that  in  the  above  passage  a Greek  was 
addressing  Greeks  ; he  could  therefore  employ  a notion 
which  was  familiar  to  them,  viz.  that  of  the  formation  of 
their  own  alphabet,  which  was  composed  of  sixteen  ele- 
mentary letters.  But,  leaving  this  explanation  which 
some  have  thought  hardly  natural,  we  may  understand 
by  crioi/eia  nqma  those  elementary  articulations  expressed 
by  letters,  to  which,  among  all  nations,  the  alphabet  is 
limited  while  in  its  primitive  simplicity,  and  before  new 
elements  are  added  to  express  those  niceties  of  sounds 
which  are  liable  to  be  confounded,  such  as  the  D and  T , 
the  B and  P,  the  F and  V,  etc.* 

Here  then  are  evidently  two  different  modes  of  hie- 
roglyphic writing  ; the  one  alphabetic,  the  other  ideo- 
graphic. Champollion  has  proved  the  frequent  employ- 
ment of  each  in  Egyptian  legends.  We  have  already 
seen  that  he  discovered,  (what  before  was  not  supposed 
to  exist),  an  order  o ï hieroglyphic  signs  expressing  sounds, 
to  which  he  has  given  the  name  of  phonetic , and  which 
are  the  same  with  the  cyriologic  by  the  primitive  alpha- 
betic letters  of  the  Greek  father.  He  found  them  (agreea- 
bly to  the  principles  of  his  discovery)  employed  in  copies 
of  foreign  names,  and  in  names  of  the  gods,  and  monarchs, 
and  great  men  of  Egypt.  We  shall  see  in  the  sequel, 
whether  they  were  used  in  this  way  only.  As  it  regards 
the  ideographic  signs  which  Clement  describes  under  the 

* Well  understood,  the  signs  of  Champollion’s  alphabet  recall  in 
reality  the  simplicity  of  the  primitive  alphabet. 


32 


name  of  symbolical,  avyGohxrj,  their  existence  as  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristic  of  hieroglyphic  writing  had  been 
always  known,  and  many  learned  men,  deceived  by  a 
false  interpretation  of  the  notions  of  Greek  authors  on  this 
subject,  had  considered  them  as  exclusively  symbolical  ; 
nor  did  they  suspect  that  a mode  of  writing  which  repre- 
sented the  articulations  of  language,  was  used  in  ancient 

Egypt- 

3.  But  the  ideographic  signs  were  employed  in  various 
ways,  and  Clement  has  designated  them  in  the  following 
passage  from  his  text.  “ The  [method]  symbolical,  says 
he,  [is  subdivided  into  many  kinds]  ; one  represents  ob- 
jects properly  by  imitation;  another  expresses  them  by 
means  of  tropes  [metaphorically]  ; a third  employs  only 
allegories,  expressed  by  certain  enigmas . Thus,  in  con- 
formity with  the  imitative  method,  if  the  Egyptians  wished 
to  represent  the  sun,  they  made  a circle  ; if  the  moon,  they 
made  a crescent.  In  the  tropical  method,  changing  and 
qualifying  the  meaning  of  objects  by  means  of  analogies, 
they  expressed  them  either  by  modifying  their  images,  or 
by  subjecting  them  to  various  transformations.  It  was 
thus  that  the  Egyptians  employed  anaglyphs,  when  they 
wished  to  convey  the  praises  of  their  kings  under  the  form 
of  religious  fables.  The  following  is  an  example  of  the 
third  kind  [of  symbolical  hieroglyphics],  in  the  form  of 
enigmatical  allusions  ; the  Egyptians  represent  their  stars 
by  means  of  serpents,  on  account  of  the  obliquity  of  their 
course  ; and  the  sun  is  represented  by  the  figure  of  a 
beetle . ” Tfjç  ôè  2 Y MB  OA  IK  HZ  ?j  y è v K YPIOA  O FEI- 
TAIKATA  MIMHZIN ,ij  ô ’ locrnco  TP OTHtUlZ  yçdcferiu 

ôè  dvnxQV  ç dXh/yoocïnai  K A TA  T INA  Z A INIFMOYZ . 
c Hhov  yovv  ygdipcn  fîovXôpevoi  kvxIov  noiovai,  (reXrjvqr 
ôè  o/Tjya  [irjvoeiôèç,  KATA  TO  KYPIOAOF OYMENON 
EIAOZ.  TPOniKSIS  ôè  y. ad  oîxei6tt}tu  yerdyovie ç xoù 


33 


fistctTiôévTB g,  id  8'  êÇuXXdnovieç,  id  ôè  noXXa/üç  fiEiaa- 
XTjfiaii'ÇovTFç  /agdiiovanv.  Tovç  yovv  iüv  fi acnXébJv  ènai- 
rovç  xXeoXoyovfiévoiç  pvOoig  naçcxôidoviEç,  dvuygdqjovoi 
ôid  lâv  AN  A TA  Y fI>SlN.  Tov  ôè  KATA  TOY  2 A INIT- 
IA 0 Y 2 iqiiov  eïôovç  ôeiyuu  taio)  lôôa’  id  yèv  ydo  iüv 
vXXoiv  uargoiv,  ôid  lijr  noqeiav  it\v  Xo%t\v  dcpçotv  awyaoiv 
dneUatov , iov  ôè  AlXiov  loi  tov  xuvôdqov.  (Strom,.  V.  p. 

657.) 

This  passage,  which  has  been  made  clear  by  the 
new  discoveries,  points  out  two  different  kinds  of  the  sym- 
bolical or  ideographic  method  ; the  one  by  a proper  imi- 
tation of  the  objects  themselves,  recalls  the  ideas  of  them, 
v.vQioXoyeïiuL  naid  yi/urjOLv  ; the  other  expresses  the  ideas 
of  them  tropically  and  metaphorically , by  means  of  analo- 
gies which,  so  to  speak,  change  the  literal  meaning, 
t qotuküç.  The  learned  father  adds  to  these  two  methods 
a third,  which  employs  only  allegories  expressed  by  certain 
enigmas,  dXXrjyoqs trou  vend  nvdg  uîviyyovç,  and  this  de- 
scription applies  particularly  to  the  anaglyphs,  ôid  iüv  dva- 
yXvcpüv. 

Such  a division  of  the  ideographic  signs  agrees  perfectly 
with  the  results  obtained  by  Champollion.  By  studying 
the  monuments,  he  has  ascertained  that  the  ideographic 
signs  which  belong  to  hieroglyphic  writing,  are  of  two 
kinds.  The  first  are  a proper  representation  or  imitation 
of  objects,  y.aid  ylfiTjoiv  ; the  second  are  metaphorical,  ac- 
cording to  the  relations  (near  or  remote,  true  or  false), 
of  abstract  ideas  with  material  forms  ; which  relations 
were  admitted  by  the  Egyptians  between  the  objects  repre- 
sented and  the  ideas  to  be  conveyed.  This  definition 
corresponds  perfectly  with  the  idea  which  Clement  gives 
of  the  method  he  calls  tropical.  Lastly,  upon  some  bas- 
reliefs,  which  at  first  sight  appear  rather  like  paintings 
than  proper  writings,  there  may  be  found  examples  of  the 


34 


enigmatic  method  ; which  according  to  this  father  is  that 
of  anaglyphs.  It  seems  to  be  a peculiar  ivriting , intend- 
ed to  conceal  the  mysteries  of  the  sacerdotal  caste  and  of 
the  initiated,  so  that  it  was  a good  conjecture  of  Clement’s, 
that  anaglyphs  were  reserved  for  religious  fables.  [See 
App.  F.] 

In  the  following  chapter,  taking  our  authorities  from  the 
observations  collected  by  our  learned  countryman,  we  shall 
enter  into  a few  details  concerning  th e phonetic,  figurative, 
and  symbolical  methods,  which  will  confirm  the  notions 
we  have  extracted  from  the  Alexandrine  doctor. 

From  what  has  now  been  said,  and  from  the  analysis  of 
the  famous  passage  in  the  Stromata , we  obtain  the  follow- 
ing results;  (1)  The  Egyptians  possessed  three  entirely 
distinct  kinds  of  writing , which  were  devoted  to  different 
uses.  First,  the  common  writing,  which  Clement  calls 
epistolographic , the  Rosetta  inscription  enchorial,  Hero- 
dotus and  Diodorus  demotic  ; secondly,  the  writing  of  the 
hierogrammatists,  i.  e.  the  sacerdotal  writing,  called  hie- 
ratic ; and  lastly,  the  hieroglyphic  writing,  which  ancient 
profane  authors  seem  to  class  with  the  hieratic , under  the 
common  denomination  of  sacred.  (2)  The  hieroglyphic 
method  of  writing  comprises  three  different  modes.  («) 
The  cyriologic  by  the  primitive  letters  of  the  alphabet , as 
it  is  called  by  the  father  of  the  church  so  often  named, 
or  phonetic , as  it  is  called  by  Champollion.  ( b ) The 
ideographic  or  symbolical  ; which  is  subdivided  into  two 
kinds,  viz.  1.  That  of  proper  imitation , which  constitutes 
the  figurative  signs.  2.  That  of  tropes  or  enigmas,  which 
is  properly  called  by  Champollion  the  symbolic. 

All  the  different  branches  of  the  Egyptian  systems  of 
writing  are  exhibited  more  unitedly  and  precisely  in  the 
following  synoptical  table,  which  we  copy  from  M.  Le- 
tronne. 


35 


hr)\joTiKà  and  irjijni6r)  by  Herodotus  and  Diodorus, 
f’y^ùipja  by  the  inscription  of  Rosetta. 
htoTo\oypa<f>iKà  by  Clement  of  Alexandria. 

a.  Hieratic,  or  sacerdotal  writing,  which  may  be 
called  hierographic. 

b.  Hiero-  f a.  Cyriologic,  by  means  of  the  first  letters 

glyphic,  of  the  alphabet. 

composed  < b.  Symbol-  r 1.  Cyriologic,  by  imitation, 
of  ...  . I ical,  com-  ? 2.  Tropical  or  metaphorical. 
I,  prising  the  ( 3.  Enigmatical. 

We  pass  now  to  consider  exclusively  the  hieroglyphic 
method,  about  which  Champollion  has  furnished  us  with 
many  important  details.  [See  App.  G.] 


EGYPTIAN 
WRITING, 
divided  by 
Herodotus, 
Diodorus, 
and  the 
inscription 
of  Rosetta, 
into  two 
kinds,  viz. 


A.  The  com- 
mon, called, 


The  sacred, 
divided  by 
Clement  of 
Alexandria 
into  .... 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EPITOME  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHIC  SYSTEM. 


Forma  and  number  of  signs.  Delineation  of  signs.  Disposition  of  signs. 
Figurative  characters.  Symbolical  characters.  Phonetic  characters. 
Simultaneous  employment  of  three  orders  of  signs.  Egyptian  or  foreign 
names  upon  the  monuments.  Grammatical  forms.  Certainty  of  Cham- 
pollion’s  system. 

The  hieroglyphic  writing  is  eminently  monumental. 
Its  special  use  was  in  inscriptions  that  were  engraved  or 
sculptured  upon  public  edifices.  It  is  also  found  executed 
in  similar  ways,  upon  objects  which  preserve  the  religious 
or  domestic  usages  of  ancient  Egypt  ; and  it  is  also  de- 
lineated with  the  pencil,  either  in  numerous  manuscripts, 
on  the  wooden  coffins  of  the  mummies,  or  finally  upon 
harder  substances,  such  as  baked  or  enamelled  earth,  etc. 
We  shall  consider  this  writing  under  its  material  and 
philosophical  relations,  and  shall  recount  the  most  promi- 
nent of  the  numerous  facts  observed  by  the  learned  French- 
man, whose  system  we  have  undertaken  to  analyze. 


36 


1.  From  the  nature  of  the  signs  it  employs,  the  hiero- 
glyphic writing  is  a species  of  painting,  and  it  presents  a 
various  and  picturesque  aspect,  which  distinguishes  it 
essentially  from  every  other  method  of  writing.  The  hie- 
roglyphic  characters  do  in  fact  exhibit  images  of  almost 
every  material  object  in  creation.* 

We  find  here  figures  of  the  divinities  adored  in  Egypt, 
or  of  some  of  their  attributes  ; a representation  of  the  vari- 
ous celestial  bodies,  the  sun,  the  moon  in  its  different 
phases,  the  stars,  the  heavens  ; the  human  race  of  both 
sexes  and  of  all  ages,  in  their  positions  of  action  or  rest, 
and  the  separate  members  of  which  the  body  is  composed  ; 
divers  kinds  of  quadrupeds,  domestic  and  wild  ; a multi- 
tude of  birds  of  different  kinds  ; many  reptiles,  some  kinds 
of  fish  and  insects,  and  a succession  of  vegetables,  flowers 
and  fruits. 

Faithful  copies-  are  also  found  of  the  productions  of  the 
arts  ; vases  of  various  forms,  arms,  coverings  for  the  leg 
and  foot,  and  head-dresses  ; furniture,  sacred  or  domestic 
utensils,  instruments  of  music,  tools  of  the  different  trades, 
religious  or  civil  edifices,  etc.  ; different  forms  in  geome- 
try, such  as  right,  curved,  and  interrupted  lines,  angles, 
circles,  polygons,  etc.  ; many  fantastic  beings,  the  offspring 
of  the  imagination,  and  created  by  a union  of  objects 
which  have  no  prototype  in  nature,  are  also  represented. 

The  elements  of  a writing  so  various  must  be  very  ex- 
tensive. But  their  real  number  is  neither  so  large  as 
would  be  at  first  supposed,  nor  so  small  as  some  learned 
men  have  judged.  The  traveller  Bruce  said  that  he  could 
find  but  Jive  hundred  and  fourteen  hieroglyphics  which 
were  essentially  different,  but  this  judgment  appears  some- 
what superficial.  The  learned  Zoëga  pretends  to  have 
collected  a series  of  nine  hundred  and  fifty  eight  charac- 

* See  Precis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique , pp.  302 — 308. 


37 


ters  wholly  distinct,  from  the  obelisks  of  Rome  only  and 
a few  monuments  that  were  preserved  in  Italy.  It  is  possi- 
ble that  he  made  a distinction  between  some  equivalent 
characters,  or  those  whose  difference  was  very  slight.  But 
it  is  very  difficult  to  make  an  exact  estimate  of  the  hiero- 
glyphic signs,  so  long  as  the  import  of  a large  number  re- 
mains unknown.  Champollion  computes  them  at  very 
nearly  nine  hundred.  [See  App.  H.] 

2.  We  should  suppose  that  the  signs  of  such  a writing 
would  be  executed  too  faithfully  to  allow  of  mistake  with 
regard  to  the  objects  they  represented  ; and  in  general, 
the  execution  of  hieroglyphics  upon  monuments  of  all 
kinds,  is  sufficiently  exact  to  be  consistent  with  this  first 
law  of  imitative  writing.  But  so  much  difference  arises 
from  the  various  degrees  of  precision  and  elegance  in  their 
delineation,  that,  on  this  account,  we  have  occasion  to  di- 
vide them  into  many  distinct  classes.* 

Hieroglyphics  are  often  delineated  with  such  careful 
observation,  with  such  great  purity  of  design,  and  with  a 
fidelity  so  minute  even  in  the  smallest  details,  that  this 
kind  of  writing,  especially  when  a certain  grandeur  is 
given  to  its  proportions,  has  all  the  merit  of  true  sculpture  ; 
and  the  peculiar  brightness  of  colors  which  the  signs  pos- 
sess, adds  to  their  richness  and  to  the  correctness  of  the 
imitation.  Hieroglyphics  of  this  class  are  usually  executed 
in  very  elliptic  bas-reliefs,  or  in  cavities — a method  of 
preservation  which,  like  many  other  circumstances,  dis- 
closes the  peculiar  ambition  of  the  Egyptians  to  bequeath 
their  monuments  to  the  remotest  posterity.  The  admira- 
ble precision  of  these  signs  made  them  worthy  the  magnifi- 
cence of  those  public  buildings  where  they  seem  to  have 
been  especially  used.  Champollion  gives  them  the  name 
of  pure  hieroglyphics. 

* See  Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique , pp.  308 — 312. 

4 


38 


Other  inscriptions  present  hieroglyphics,  which,  in  any 
view,  are  only  the  profiles  of  the  objects  that  they  repre- 
sent. They  trace  the  outlines,  but  the  space  within  is  all 
hollowed  out  for  the  purpose  of  being  filled  with  mastick 
or  colored  enamel,  and  of  course  can  admit  no  details. 
Such  are  the  characters  of  the  hieroglyphic  text  of  Rosetta, 
and  they  are  also  found  on  most  of  the  little  monuments 
which  are  carefully  executed.  They  are  called  by  our 
author  the  profile  hieroglyphics.  [Such  are  those  on  the 
plates  at  the  close  of  this  volume.] 

Most  of  the  manuscripts,  the  legends  painted  upon  the 
mummy  chests,  and  those  upon  some  other  monuments, 
are  composed  of  characters  which  present  only  a simple 
draught — a very  abridged  sketch  of  objects  that  are  indi- 
cated rather  than  described  by  a few  traits  ; the  strokes 
are  very  fine  and  delicate,  and  one  can  perfectly  under- 
stand the  character  of  the  objects  in  these  draughts,  if  he 
is  ever  so  little  acquainted  with  the  pure  hieroglyphics. 
Champollion  calls  this  third  kind  of  hieroglyphic  signs, 
linear  hieroglyphics. 

But  these  three  classes  of  characters,  which  are  distin- 
guished from  each  other  only  by  the  greater  or  less 
perfection  of  their  structure,  do  not  constitute  different 
methods  of  writing  : they  are  only  more  monumental,  or 
more  cursive  modes  of  tracing  elements  of  the  same  kind  ; 
and  they  who  have  sometimes  thought  the  hieroglyphics 
which  we,  with  Champollion,  call  linear , to  be  the  same 
with  the  characters  of  the  hieratic  loriting,  are  in  a great 
error. 

3.  In  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  the  signs  are  ranged  in 
various  ways*;  either  following  the  various  forms  of  the 
monument  upon  which  they  are  traced,  or  ranging  ac- 
cording to  the  space  left  by  the  images  of  gods  or  men, 

* See  Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique , pp.  317 — 320. 


39 


which  occupy  one  portion  of  the  monuments.  These 
different  dispositions  depended  wholly  upon  the  judgment 
of  the  artist.  Thus  we  find  the  characters  disposed  in 
perpendicular  columns , where  the  texts  are  of  a certain 
length;  in  other  texts,  they  range  in  horizontal  lines.  In 
all  the  legends,  we  find  them  disposed  in  groups  of  two  or 
three  signs,  sometimes  placed  over  each  other,  and  in  an 
order  which  is  determined  by  the  greater  or  less  breadth 
or  height  of  their  forms.  But  even  wThen  they  are  placed 
in  a perpendicular  order,  that  is  to  say,  in  columns,  they 
are  always  to  be  read  horizontally. 

Herodotus  relates  (n.  36)  that  the  Egyptians  wrote 
and  reckoned  by  moving  the  hand  from  the  right  to  the 
left.  Being  particularly  struck,  as  he  testifies,  with  a 
process  different  from  that  among  the  Greeks,  the  father 
of  history  has  told  only  one  part  of  the  truth.  The  hiero- 
glyphic inscriptions  can  be  traced  and  read  indifferently 
from  the  right  to  the  left , and  from  the  left  to  the  right  ; 
and  there  are  examples  of  both  these  dispositions  of  signs 
upon  the  monuments. 

But  it  is  impossible  to  be  deceived  wTith  regard  to  the 
wray  of  reading  the  Egyptian  legends.  Champollion  has 
found  that  the  figures  of  men  and  of  animals,  which  are 
generally  delineated  by  profiles , at  least  the  heads,  are 
invariably  directed  towards  the  same  side  of  the  inscrip- 
tion ; and  the  reading  of  the  texts  commences  on  the  side 
towards  which  they  are  turned.  The  same  fact  is  true 
also  of  the  salient,  angular,  or  indented  parts  of  inanimate 
objects  which  figure  in  the  texts.  These,  when  there  are 
no  forms  of  animals,  determine  by  their  direction,  where 
the  reading  of  the  same  texts  commences. 

4.  We  come  now  to  consider  hieroglyphic  characters 
in  their  material  forms.  When  viewed  in  a more  impor- 
tant and  philosophical  light,  that  of  their  expression,  they 


40 


take  different  properties  according  to  the  modes  of  the 
hieroglyphic  method  to  which  they  belong — modes  which 
Clement  has  described,  and  which  we  distinguished,  after 
Champollion,  by  the  names  of  phonetic , symbolic , and 
figurative.  We  will  commence  with  the  last.* 

We  understand  by  the  term  figurative  characters , signs 
which  in  their  material  forms,  are  images  of  objects  the 
ideas  of  which  are  to  be  expressed.  Without  pushing  too 
far  the  opinion  of  philosophers  that  writing  in  its  infancy 
was  a simple  painting,  it  appears  very  probable  that  so 
natural  a manner  of  expressing  the  ideas  of  material 
objects,  would  present  itself  first,  to  the  mind  of  a man 
who  was  inventing  a system  of  writing.  A great  number 
of  figurative  characters  are  found  in  the  Egyptian  inscrip- 
tions, which  either  follow  this  primitive  system  in  all  its 
simplicity,  or  in  a more  abridged  and  striking  form  express 
the  ideas  of  certain  objects. 

A single  attentive  inspection  of  the  Rosetta  hieroglyphic 
inscription,  will  sufficiently  prove  this  fact.  Indeed,  one 
cannot  fail  to  distinguish  the  figurative  characters  in  the 
signs  which  correspond  to  words  in  the  Greek  text,  vaôç , 
temple ; eîxév.  image;  Soctvov,  statue;  d anig,  asp,  etc.  ; for 
these  various  objects  are  represented  very  faithfully.  Other 
monuments  exhibit  a multitude  of  similar  signs,  and  there 
can  be  no  deception  now  about  them,  even  though  their 
expression  is  not  indicated  by  a Greek  version.  Thus,  in 
a legend  which  refers  to  edifices,  to  pillars,  or  to  sphinxes 
elevated  before  a temple,  the  figures  of  these  objects  take 
the  place  of  their  names  ; so,  in  bas-reliefs  representing 
the  victories  of  the  Pharaohs,  the  figurative  sign  of  a man, 
followed  by  a numerical  sign,  indicates  evidently  the  num- 
ber of  prisoners  ; the  figurative  character  a hand,  accom- 
panied also  by  a numerical  sign,  describes  the  number  of 


* Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique,  pp.  322 — 331. 


41 


hands  cut  off  from  the  vanquished  ; so,  in  a hieroglyphic 
inscription  of  the  royal  museum,  which  relates  to  the 
courses  of  chariots  and  of  horses,  the  ideas  of  these  objects 
are  recalled  by  their  images  ; so,  the  offerings  made  to 
the  gods  are  expressed  by  representing  the  objects  offered , 
accompanied  by  another  sign  which  is  known  to  express 
an  idea  of  offering. 

Figurative  characters  also  exist  of  a little  different  na- 
ture. Some,  instead  of  representing  a perfect  image  of 
an  object,  only  trace  a part  : it  is  in  this  way  that  the 
ideas  habitation , house,  edifice,  are  designated  by  means 
of  the  plan  or  section  of  these  buildings,  and  not  by  their 
elevation  or  their  profile.  Others  are  a little  more  remote 
from  the  real  nature  of  the  objects,  because  they  have 
forms  corresponding  with  the  particular  ideas  which  the 
Egyptians  attached  to  these  objects.  Thus  an  idea  of  the 
sky  is  expressed  by  the  ceiling  of  a temple,  covered  with 
stars,  or  painted  blue.* 

These  various  observations  led  Champollion  to  distin- 
guish three  kinds  of  figurative  characters,  called  by  him 
the  figurative  proper,  the  figurative  abridged,  and  the 
figurative  conventional.  [See  App.  I.] 

5.  Figurative  characters,  though  very  suitable  to  ex- 
press ideas  of  material  objects,  were  yet  insufficient  to 
express  abstract  ideas.  But  abstract  ideas  might  have 
relations  more  or  less  direct,  more  or  less  sensible,  with 
material  objects,  and  then  it  would  be  possible  in  painting 
these  objects  to  find  a method  of  expressing  the  relative 
ideas.  It  was  only  to  do  in  the  art  of  writing  thoughts, 
what  is  first  done  in  the  art  of  language,  viz.,  to  employ 
what  the  rhetoricians  call  tropes  or  figures  of  speech.  The 

* So  in  designating  the  ideas  of  their  gods.  They  made  representa- 
tions of  men,  invested  with  just  such  appearances  as  the  Egyptians 
supposed  the  gods  to  exhibit  in  the  celestial  worlds. — Tr. 

4* 


42 


signs  employed  in  this  manner  are  those  to  which  the  an- 
cient writers  give  the  name  of  tropical , enigmatical,  or 
symbolical  ; this  last  denomination  Champollion  preserves. 

The  Egyptians  proceeded  with  this  kind  of  signs, — 

(1.)  By  synecdoche,  in  painting  a part  for  the  whole. 
Thus  two  arms  lifted  towards  heaven  signified  an  offering; 
a vessel  from  which  water  was  poured,  a libation;  a per- 
fuming pan  and  grains  of  incense,  adoration,  etc. 

(2.)  'By  metonymy,  in  painting  the  cause  for  the  effect. 
Thus  according  to  Horapollo,  whose  testimony  is  con- 
firmed by  the  Rosetta  inscription,  the  crescent  of  the 
moon  expressed  the  idea  of  a month  ; so  upon  the  same 
monument  and  elsewhere,  the  ideas  to  write,  writing, 
letters,  are  expressed  by  a group  consisting  of  a brush  or 
reed  used  in  writing,  of  a palette  containing  the  colors, 
and  sometimes  of  a little  vessel  in  which  the  colors  were 
diluted. 

(3.)  By  metaphor,  in  employing  the  image  of  one  object 
to  express  the  idea  of  another.  It  is  according  to  this 
principle,  says  Horapollo,  that  the  bee  signifies  a people 
obedient  to  their  Icing  ; the  foreparts  of  a lion,  power;  an 
asp,  the  power  of  life  or  death,  etc. 

Many  other  symbolic  signs,  whose  forms  had  no  rela- 
tions, or  rather,  exceedingly  remote  and  purely  conven- 
tional relations,  to  the  objects  of  which  they  were  to  express 
the  ideas,  were  true  enigmas,  as  they  are  called  by  Cle- 
ment ; as  the  scarabée,  a symbol  of  the  world,  of  the  male 
nature  or  paternity  ; the  vulture,  a symbol  of  the  female 
nature  or  maternity  ; the  folds  of  the  serpent,  figuring  the 
course  of  the  stars,  etc. 

Finally,  the  names  of  the  gods  which  are  expressed  by 
human  figures  with  the  heads  of  animals,  or  by  the  ani- 
mals themselves  which  were  sacred  to  them,  (a  method 
which  to  a certain  point  would  enter  into  a system  of 


43 


figurative  signs),  are  in  this  way  very  often  expressed,  by 
signs  which  imitate  only  inanimate  objects  or  parts  only 
of  animated  objects.  Thus  an  eye  is  the  symbol  of  Osiris; 
the  object  which  we  not  improperly  call  milometer , is  a 
symbol  of  Phta;  an  obelisk  is  a symbol  of  Ammon , etc. 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  said,  that  a knowledge 
of  the  particular  ideas  which  the  Egyptians  attached  to 
the  objects  they  represented,  is  necessary  in  order  to  un- 
derstand these  symbolic  signs.  Consequently  it  is  this 
part  of  the  hieroglyphic  signs  which  presents  us  with  the 
most  formidable  obstacles.  [See  App.  J.] 

6.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a writing  wholly  ideo- 
graphic, and  bearing  no  relation  to  the  sounds  of  a spoken 
language.  That  of  the  Chinese  which  is  sometimes  said 
to  be  of  this  description,  in  the  midst  of  more  numerous 
symbolic  signs  or  images  than  are  found  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, has  another  order  of  characters  representing  sounds  ; 
and  M.  Abel  Rémusat  has  discovered  that  this  order,  cal- 
led Hîng-chîng,  forms  half  at  least  of  their  written  lan- 
guage. It  was  so  also  among  the  Egyptians,  and  it  is  now 
certain  that  they  made  use  of  phonetic  signs,  or  of  those 
which  expressed  sounds.  We  have  seen  that  the  idea  of 
their  existence  as  absolutely  necessary  for  the  expression 
of  foreign  names,  was  the  fortunate  germ  of  Champollion’s 
discovery.  He  became  satisfied  indeed,  and  this  was  his 
first  step,  that  these  names  were  written  phonetically; 
and  by  discovering  also  that  Egyptian  names  of  divinities, 
of  the  Pharaohs,  and  of  simple  individuals,  were  written 
upon  the  monuments  in  accordance  with  the  same  princi- 
ples, he  satisfactorily  proves  that  the  use  of  this  kind  of 
writing  extends  back  to  the  first  epochs  known  in  Egyptian 
antiquity. 

But  the  use  of  phonetic  characters  was  not  confined  to 
the  simple  transcription  of  foreign  or  of  national  proper 


44 


names.  Consistently  with  the  principles  of  his  discovery, 
Champollion  conjectured  that  they  had  a more  extensive 
use,  and  the  study  of  the  monuments  convinced  him  that 
his  conjecture  was  well  founded.  It  is  now  demonstrated 
that  phonetic  signs  form  the  most  considerable  part  of 
all  kinds  of  Egyptian  texts , and  the  mere  idea  of  such  a 
use,  says  Champollion,  was  a great  advance  towards  decy- 
phering hieroglyphics. 

Phonetic  characters  constitute  a system  purely  alpha- 
betic, like  that  of  the  ancient  people  of  western  Asia,  that 
is  to  say,  each  character  corresponds  invariably  to  an  al- 
phabetic letter.  This  assertion  is  founded  upon  the  nu- 
merous facts  developed  by  Champollion.  It  is  a great 
error  to  view  these  characters  as  syllabic  signs,  and  it 
was  this  supposition  that  led  to  those  great  mistakes  in  which 
Dr.  Young  was  involved,  at  the  commencement  of  his 
labors.  But  it  is  important  for  us  to  observe,  that  this 
mode  of  writing,  like  that  of  the  Shemitish  languages,  very 
often  omits  the  medial  vowels.  This  suppression  of  vowels, 
we  find  also  takes  place  in  many  Theban  texts.  It  per- 
haps made  the  reading  of  the  hieroglyphic  legends  more 
easy  to  all  Egyptians,  who  spoke  the  different  dialects  that 
may  be  supposed  to  have  existed  in  ancient  as  well  as  in 
modern  times — dialects  in  which  the  sound  of  the  vowels, 
being  much  less  sensible  than  in  the  idioms  of  southern 
Europe,*  was  subject  to  variation  from  the  manner  of  its 

* Champollion  says  ( Précis  366)  that  the  vowels  in  the  ancient 
Egyptian  languages,  “ were  much  less  striking  and  decided  in  their 
sounds  than  those  of  the  languages  of  southern  Europe.  Their  sounds 
were  so  fugitive,  and  so  differently  pronounced  by  different  districts, 
and  often  by  different  individuals  of  the  same  district,  that  it  was  very 
natural  when  the  invention  of  alphabets  first  took  place,  to  attach  a 
secondary  importance  to  their  expression.”  With  regard  to  their  sup- 
pression in  the  representation  of  words,  he  thinks,  that  “ considering 
the  great  number  of  dialects  and  different  methods  of  pronunciation 
in  use  when  phonetic  characters  were  invented,  and  the  probability 


✓ 


45 

articulation.  The  same  fact  is  true  also  of  phonetic  signs 
which  express  indifferently  consonants  that  are  susceptible 
of  being  used  for  each  other  in  the  different  dialects,  such 
as  the  77  and  the  #>,  the  A and  the  P,  etc. 

When  his  Precis  was  published,  Champollion  had 
already  enumerated  a great  number  of  phonetic  characters, 
and  his  succeeding  labors  furnished  him  with  more  that 
were  new.  They  expressed  still  only  letters  of  the  Coptic 
alphabet,* *  but  many  of  the  signs  are  homophonous , i.  e. 
expressive  of  the  same  sounds  ; as  we  have  before  observed. 
So  an  Egyptian  copyist,  to  express  the  same  articulation, 
had  the  choice  between  many  equivalent  characters.  Still, 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  choice  was  not  purely 
arbitrary  ; that  it  was  regulated  by  known  rules,  and  that 
the  preference  given  to  one  of  the  various  homophones  over 
another  was  determined,  either  by  its  material  form  which 
made  it  proper  to  be  united  with  other  signs,  or  by  the  re- 
lations of  the  object  depicted  to  the  nature  of  the  idea 
which  the  hieroglyphic  group  was  destined  to  express. 
[See  App.  K.] 

Phonetic  signs  present  examples  of  a kind  of  use  in  the 
Egyptian  writings,  which  would  hardly  have  been  suppo- 
sed, had  not  experience  revealed  the  fact.  They  were 
sometimes  employed  to  express  words  in  an  abbreviated 
manner.  They  then  ceased  to  be  rigorously  phonetic, 
and  became  a means  of  painting  ideas,  rather  than  of 
standing  directly  for  words.  In  this  way,  to  make  writing 
more  expeditious,  the  first,  the  two  first,  or  the  first  and 

of  their  continuance  even  after  the  system  was  invented,  vowels 
which  were  subject  to  such  variations  and  niceties  would  naturally 
be  left  out  and  give  place  to  consonants  that  were  subject  to  much 
less  variation.” — Tr. 

* The  Coptic  alphabet  is  composed  of  thirty  one  letters,  many  of 
which,  expressing  complex  sounds,  are  represented  in  phonetic  writ- 
ing by  two  signs  united. 


46 


last  of  those  phonetic  signs  which  were  necessary  to  ex- 
press the  word  integrally,  were  to  be  written.  The  Precis 
of  Champollion  gives  many  examples  of  this  kind  of  abbre- 
viation ; which  did  not  apply  probably  except  to  words  the 
most  easy  to  be  understood,  because  they  more  frequently 
occurred.  They  must  have  been  familiar  to  the  ancient 
Egyptians;  but  they  would  deceive  a modern  reader  if  he 
was  not  cautious,  and  he  might  be  led  to  take  for  ideo- 
graphic hieroglyphics  those  signs  which  in  fact  are  only 
the  initials  of  phonetic  words,  and  which  are  like  the  signs 
of  Greek  and  Roman  inscriptions,  or  such  as  we  employ 
frequently  in  the  writings  of  our  modern  languages. 

7.  The  adoption  of  phonetic  signs,  (which  must  be 
posterior  to  the  use  of  the  two  other  kinds  of  signs — the 
only  elements  of  primitive  writing,  as  there  is  reason  to 
believe),  would  not  destroy  the  homogeneousness  of  the 
writing  where  they  were  employed.  The  three  kinds  of 
hieroglyphic  signs,  differing  only  in  their  mode  of  expres- 
sion, were  alike  in  regard  to  their  material  forms ; and 
they  all  presented  images  of  physical  objects  that  were 
designed  either  to  represent  those  objects  properly,  or  to 
recall  symbolically  ideas  related  to  the  objects,  or  lastly, 
to  express  phonetically  articulations  which  were  the  ele- 
ments of  the  words  in  the  spoken  language.  The  figura- 
tive signs  were  employed  for  the  notation  of  the  most 
simple  ideas,  those  of  sensible  objects  ; the  symbolical 
signs  denoted  very  simple  abstract  ideas  ; and  the  phonetic 
characters  served  to  express  the  most  complicated  ideas, 
such  as  could  not  be  represented  by  the  other  two  orders 
of  signs,  and  could  not  be  rendered  intelligibly,  except  by 
means  of  words  written  down  by  the  hand  in  a manner 
correspondent  to  their  pronunciation. 

Thus  the  employment  of  these  three  classes  of  hiero- 
glyphic signs  was  simultaneous,  as  the  examination  of  the 


47 


monuments  fully  proves.  No  single  inscription,  however 
brief  it  may  be,  is  without  the  elements  of  these  different 
kinds  of  characters.  Not  only  are  the  figurative , the 
symbolical,  and  the  phonetic  divisions  (of  which  the  last 
is  in  the  proportion  of  two  thirds)  found;  but  the  very 
same  ideas  in  the  same  text,  are  often  traced  by  different 
processes.  It  is  not  unusual  to  find  them  employed  simul- 
taneously in  expressing  the  same  word  ; here  an  image  is 
first  made  of  the  object  whose  name  is  to  be  given,  and 
lastly  the  characters  purely  phonetic  are  drawn.  This 
takes  place  particularly  in  words  where  the  names  of  the 
gods  figure  as  elements  ; these  names  are  often  expressed 
by  ideographic  methods. 

Such  are  the  most  striking  facts  observed  by  Champol- 
lion  in  the  employment  of  the  different  signs  which  com- 
pose the  hieroglyphic  method.  To  complete  this  part 
of  our  labor  we  ought  to  add,  after  his  example,  several 
remarks  which  are  essential  to  establish  the  truth  of  his 
system,  and  to  facilitate  the  explanation  of  hieroglyphics. 

8.  It  will  be  recollected  that  our  author,  after  he  had 
learned  the  use  of  the  phonetic  method  in  the  transcription 
of  foreign  names,  applied  himself  to  find  upon  the  monu- 
ments Egyptian  proper  names,  and  that  he  has  found  the 
names  of  the  gods,  those  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  numerous 
names  of  individuals  of  both  sexes,  written  after  the  three 
ways  above  indicated,  but  more  often,  and  always  in  some 
part,  according  to  the  phonetic  method. 

We  have  seen  that  the  names  of  the  sovereigns  are 
sufficiently  distinguished  from  other  portions  of  the  texts, 
by  their  position  in  rings  of  an  elliptical  form,  called  car- 
touches — a distinction  which  belongs  exclusively  to  them. 
These  cartouches  are  of  two  kinds,  which  are  placed 
immediately  succeeding  each  other,  or  sometimes  are 
separated  by  the  interposition  of  signs  ; one  contains  the 


48 


last  name  of  the  sovereign,  the  other  his  first  name.  The 
cartouche  containing  the  first  name  is  surmounted  or 
preceded,  according  as  its  direction  is  perpendicular  or 
horizontal,  by  a group  composed  of  a bee,  of  a kind 
of  plant,  and  of  a segment  of  a sphere,  which  expresses, 
partly  symbolically,  partly  phonetically,  the  title  of  the 
king  or  director  of  an  obedient  people.  The  cartouche 
containing  the  last  name  is  likewise  preceded  or  sur- 
mounted by  another  group  consisting  of  two  signs;  the 
chenalopex  [i.  e.  Egyptian  goose]  and  the  disk  of  the  sun  ; 
this  group  signifies  son  of  the  sun,  an  appellation  common 
to  all  the  Egyptian  sovereigns.*  [See  plate  I.  for  the  form 
of  a cartouche.] 

The  names  of  the  gods  and  those  of  simple  individuals 
are  not  inscribed  in  cartouches  like  those  of  the  kings, 
but  another  particular  sign  distinguishes  them  from  the 
rest  of  the  text,  and  marks  them  as  proper  names.  So 
names  of  divinities,  either  symbolical,  figurative  or  pho- 
netic, are  followed  immediately  by  the  generic  sign  of  a 
god  or  goddess,  and,  with  a little  attention,  no  mistake 
can  be  made  about  them,  f The  names  of  individuals, 
to  whatever  order  of  hieroglyphics  their  elements  belong, 
are  denoted  by  figurative  signs  of  the  gender,  male  or 
female,  to  which  they  belong,  and  by  another  sign  indi- 
cating also  individuals  who  are  deceased.  J 

With  the  aid  of  these  different  indications,  persons  who 
have  not  themselves  studied  deeply  the  subject  of  hiero- 
glyphics, may  recognize  upon  any  amulets,  stelœ,  or  other 
monuments  that  they  may  possess,  those  which  contain 
the  names  of  divinities,  of  monarchs,  or  of  individual 
Egyptians. 

9.  The  expression  of  the  different  relations,  whether  of 
a social  or  grammatical  nature,  which  occur  so  often  in 

* Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique,  pp.  236,  237. 

t Précis  etc.,  pp.  138,  139.  f Id.,  p.  163. 


49 


discourse,  could  not  escape  the  laborious  investigation  of 
our  learned  countryman.  He  has  found  a great  number, 
and  has  recounted  them  in  his  Precis  as  strong  authorities 
in  favor  of  his  system.* 

So  he  has  found  that  the  ideas  of  different  degrees  of 
kindred  and  analogous  relations,  such  as  son , daughter , 
infant  or  pupil , child,  father , mother,  brother,  sister,  Icing, 
office,  etc.,  are  expressed  in  the  inscriptions  by  phonetic 
signs  which  correspond  perfectly  to  the  words  by  which 
the  Egyptians  expressed  them,  and  which  are  presented 
in  the  Coptic  dialects.  These  hieroglyphic  denominations 
often  occur  upon  the  funeral  monuments,  particularly  upon 
those  stelce  which  represent  the  dead  receiving  homage 
from  their  families. 

In  like  manner  Champollion  found  numerous  groups  of 
phonetic  characters  expressing  verbs,  adjectives,  genders, 
numbers,  tenses,  etc.  We  shall  notice  here  only  the  sign 
which  accompanies  and  characterizes  female  groups,  and 
which  corresponds  to  the  Coptic  TT  ; the  definite  arti- 
cle yi,  a sign  of  the  masculine  gender;  different  expres- 
sions of  the  plural  article  H ; the  mark  of  the  genitive  or 
the  preposition  H or  XVP  ; the  different  pronouns  him,  of 
him,  to  him,  of  her,  to  her,  etc.;  the  affixes  or  prefixes 
which  determine  the  third  person  singular  or  plural  in  the 
present,  past,  and  future  time,  etc.  [See  App.  L.] 

Finally,  in  the  General  Table,  which  forms  the  second 
part  of  the  Precis,  he  shows  us  a large  number  of  common 
names  which  frequently  occurred,  titles  of  honor,  and  dif- 
ferent qualifications  of  the  various  gods,  kings,  individuals, 
etc.,  written  in  figurative,  symbolical,  or  phonetic  charac- 
ters; and  he  has  furnished  us  besides  with  numerous 
other  notions,  though  they  may  not  all  be  yet  complete. 

* Syst.  du.  Hièrog.  pp.  118 — 137. 

5 


50 


10.  The  process  by  which  Champollion  made  his  dis- 
covery; the  data  which  the  monuments  have  furnished; 
their  intimate  connection  among  themselves,  and  their 
perfect  agreement  with  the  celebrated  passage  in  Clement, 
on  which  they  are  a most  satisfactory  commentary;  all 
these  circumstances,  as  it  seems  to  us,  fully  establish  the 
certainty  of  the  system  founded  by  the  learned  Frenchman. 
Every  thing  is  consistent  and  methodical;  the  results  con- 
nect together  naturally,  and  in  a way  where  there  is  no- 
thing of  chance.  An  ingenious  conjecture,  hazarded  with 
great  address  on  the  part  of  the  author,  may  sometimes 
afford  a plausible  explanation  of  a few  isolated  facts  ; but 
a view  which  applies  equally  well  to  many  facts,  and  those 
of  a different  nature,  ceases  to  be  simply  a conjecture  ; it 
becomes,  by  this  means,  an  established  verity.  Such,  in 
our  estimation,  is  the  system  of  Champollion,  because  it 
has  been  subjected  to  all  those  tests  which  must  have  dis- 
proved it,  had  it  been  untrue  ; and  these  tests  have  only 
contributed  to  confirm  the  correctness  of  the  whole. 

It  would  then  be  a great  error,  to  confound  this  system 
with  the  chimeras  that  sprung  from  the  imaginations  of 
the  scholars  who  preceded  Champollion,  and  who  are 
thrown  into  the  shade  by  his  fortunate  success.  There 
is  no  foundation  for  opposing  to  his  system  (as  has  been 
done  by  those  unacquainted  with  the  subject),  another 
which  acquired  a short  lived  reputation  only  on  account 
of  the  national  partiality  of  some  learned  Germans.  No 
one,  who  is  even  slightly  acquainted  with  the  respective 
works  of  Champollion  and  Seyffart,  can  allow  himself  to 
compare  arbitrary  theories,  followed  without  principle,  and 
without  being  applied,  with  a system  which  has  its  basis 
in  numberless  well  known  facts,  that  are  not  only  con- 
sistent, but  in  accordance  with  all  the  notions  of  the 
learned  ancients,  and  which  applies  to  all  cases.  In  a 


51 


word,  to  borrow  the  happy  expression  of  M.  Cocquerel  ; 
“ Between  Champollion  and  his  predecessors,  there  is  this 
single,  though  very  important  difference,  that  before  him 
one  attempted  to  guess  at  the  hieroglyphics  ; he  learned 
to  read  them.”  * 

Sometimes  it  almost  appears  as  if  the  important  dis- 
covery of  our  countryman  had  reached  the  height  of  its 
development.  Most  of  the  signs  which  designate  sounds, 
it  is  true,  must  be  known,  although  Champollion  has  not 
yet  published  them  all  ; and  when  he  gives  us  his  Hiero- 
glyphic Dictionary,  we  may  be  able,  with  the  aid  of 
the  Coptic  language,  to  read  considerable  portions  of  the 
Egyptian  texts.  But,  as  we  have  observed,  the  phonetic 
signs  are  often  blended  with  both  kinds  of  the  ideographic 
hieroglyphics;  and  the  knowledge  of  these  is  very  far 
from  being  so  much  advanced  as  that  of  the  phonetic  ones. 
The  figurative  hieroglyphics  will  doubtless  be  the  most 
easy  to  recognize,  because  they  were  destined  to  recall 
an  idea  of  the  objects  whose  images  they  traced  ; and  a 
profound  study  of  the  usages  of  ancient  Egypt,  of  its 
productions  and  utensils,  objects  which  were  often  used 
for  figurative  signs,  may  render  one  able  to  complete  the 
series  of  known  characters  belonging  to  this  class.  There 
are  also  symbolical  signs  whose  relations  with  the  ideas 
they  were  to  express  are  less  direct,  less  sensible,  and 
often  less  real.  Fortunately  this  class  of  signs  is  the  least 
numerous  of  the  three  composing  the  monumental  hiero- 
glyphic system  of  writing.  The  comparison  of  similar 
manuscripts,  such  as  rituals,  the  stelce , and  funereal  cha- 
racters, which  consist  generally  of  repetitions  of  the  same 
formulas,  may  afford  the  means  of  sometime  discovering 


* Lettre  à M.  Ch.  Cocquerel  sur  le  Système  hiéroglyphique  de  M. 
Champollion,  considéré  dans  ses  rapports  avec  V Écriture  Sainte. 
Amsterdam,  1825,  in  8vo. 


52 


a phonetic  copy  of  the  symbolical  groups  elsewhere  found, 
that  were  before  unintelligible.  This  comparative  study 
will  contribute  in  a peculiar  manner  to  the  progress  of 
this  branch,  the  least  advanced  of  the  Egyptian  writings  ; 
and  if  any  one  is  so  fortunate  as  to  discover  some  bilingual 
monuments,  we  may  hope  to  acquire  almost  complete  data 
with  regard  to  the  constituent  elements  of  the  methods  of 
writing  among  a people  so  curious  to  the  student  ; and  we 
may  then  see  human  knowledge  of  all  kinds,  but  especially 
history,  enriched  with  the  precious  documents  that  lie  still 
hid  in  the  monuments  of  ancient  Egypt.  In  the  hands  of 
a scholar  so  indefatigable  as  Champollion,  this  discovery 
would  soon  reach  its  fullest  development  ; such  as  it  now 
is,  it  gives  room  for  numerous  applications,  as  we  shall 
see  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  V. 

BRIEF  VIEW  OF  THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  DISCOVERY  OF 
HIEROGLYPHICS. 

Historical  and  chronological  results.  Results  in  relation  to  Egyptian  my- 
thology. Results  relative  to  the  history  of  art  in  Egypt. 

Hardly  had  Champollion  published  his  first  notions  on 
the  subject  of  his  discovery,  in  his  Letter  to  M.  Dacier, 
before  he  received  from  every  quarter  the  most  honorable 
encouragement.  Sovereigns,  learned  Societies,  antiqua- 
rians of  every  country,  did  honor  to  themselves  by  express- 
ing in  every  way  their  pleasure  in  the  progress  of  his  im- 
portant labors.  The  king,  Louis  XVIII.,  gave  to  him  his 
high  protection  ; and  his  royal  succcessor , in  his  interest 


53 


for  Egyptian  studies,  founded  soon  after  our  rich  Museum 
of  Charles  X.,  by  purchasing  the  Salt*  collection.  The 
sovereign  pontiff,  whose  death  is  now  deplored,  and  who 
bore  with  honor  the  name  of  Leon  (so  dear  to  the  cause 
of  learning),  received  the  illustrious  Frenchman  with 
great  marks  of  distinction,  when  he  went  to  examine  the 
numerous  trophies  of  the  Pharaohs  in  the  eternal  city  ; 
and  the  king  of  Sardinia  placed  at  his  disposal  the  im- 
mense collection  of  Drovetti,  which  now  forms  the  Royal 
Egyptian  Museum  of  Turin,  a collection  whose  loss  France 
will  ever  regret,  and  which  has  furnished  Champollion  the 
materials  of  his  most  important  works,  f The  portfolios 
of  travellers  and  artists,  like  the  cabinets  of  antiquaries, 
were  laid  open  for  his  inspection  ; plaster  moulds  of  the 
original  monuments  and  numerous  designs  were  sent  to 
him  from  all  quarters,  and  he  was  consulted  as  a sovereign 
arbiter  in  every  thing  which  concerned  the  writings  and 
the  monuments  of  ancient  Egypt.  Such  a train  of  rela- 
tions led  him  to  examine  thoroughly  this  interesting  sub- 
ject, and  to  multiply  observations  which,  by  a connected 
and  methodical  process,  have  led  to  important  results 
concerning  the  various  branches  of  historic  knowledge. 
In  this  chapter,  we  shall  give  the  reader  a sketch  of  the 
most  striking. 

1.  The  first  results  of  reading  the  Egyptian  legends 
would  of  course  be  historical  or  chronological,  because  the 
nature  of  the  first  researches  would  render  necessary  the 
employment  of  the  phonetic  system,  in  order  to  decipher 
the  groups  of  signs  which  were  supposed  to  be  proper 
names  ; and  since  the  honor  of  a cartouche  was  reserved 


*That  is,  a collection  procured  by  Mr.  Salt,  the  late  British  consul 
at  Cairo. — Tr. 

t Lettres  à M.  le  duc  de  Blacas  d’Aulphs,  etc.,  relatives  au  Musée 
Royal  Égyptien  de  Turin.  Paris.  F.  Didot,  1824  & 1826,  in  Svo 

5* 


54 


solely  for  the  names  of  kings,  all  the  names  which  were 
first  analyzed  were  those  of  the  sovereigns  of  Egypt,  either 
Roman,  Greek,  Persian,  or  Aboriginal.  So  in  pursuing 
these  researches  which  now  had  a particular  aim,  Cham- 
pollion  has  found  upon  the  monuments  the  royal  names 
of  nearly  all  the  princes  who  governed  Egypt  for  twenty 
two  epochs,  from  the  time  of  Concharis  down  to  that  of 
Commodus,  and  he  has  restored  to  the  history  of  this 
celebrated  country,  fifteen  ages  which  were  shrouded  in 
obscurity.* 

In  the  Roman  epoch,  he  has  read  upon  the  monuments 
built  in  Egypt  by  the  Caesars,  the  legends  and  the  names 
of  Commodus , the  last  emperor  to  whom  these  monuments 
refer,  of  Marcus  Aurelius  and  of  Lucius  Verus,  those  of 
Antoninus  Pius  and  of  Hadrian , of  Sabina  his  wife 
and  of  his  favorite  Antinous,  of  Trajan,  of  Domitian,  of 
Titus  and  Vespasian , of  Nero,  Claudius,  Caligula  and 
Tiberius.  The  absence  of  the  names  of  Nerva,  and  those 
of  Galba,  Otho  and  Vitellius,  whose  agitated  reigns  were 
so  short  in  duration,  make  then  the  only  deficiency  in  this 
succession  of  the  masters  of  the  world  which  is  inscribed 
upon  the  edifices  of  Egypt. 

In  the  Greek  epoch,  he  has  found  the  royal  names  of 
the  celebrated  Cleopatra,  and  of  Ptolemy  her  father,  sur- 
named  Dionysius  ; those  of  the  two  Ptolemies,  surnamed 
Alexander  ; and  of  Cleopatra  Eucrgete  Philometora,  the 
mother  and  guardian  of  the  first  of  these  princes  ; those  of 
Ptolemy  Soter  II.,  of  Euergetcs  II.  whom  his  subjects 
called  Kalcergetes,  and  of  his  two  wives  who  both  bore 
the  name  of  Cleopatra;  those  of  the  Ptolemies,  Philometor 


* See  V Aperçu  des  résultats  historiques  de  la  découverte  de 
V alphabet  hiéroglyphique  Égyptien,  by  Champollion,  in  the  Bulle- 
tin des  Sciences  Historiques,  May  and  June  1827.  It  has  also  been 
printed  by  itself  (20  pages  in  8vo). 


55 


and  Epiphanes  ; of  another  Cleopatra , the  spouse  of  this 
last  ; of  Ptolemy  Philopator  and  of  his  wife  Arsinoë  ; of 
Euergetes  I.,  of  Berenice  his  wife,  of  Philadelphus , and 
lastly  of  Ptolemy  Soter)  the  first  of  the  kings  descended 
from  Lagus. 

But  besides  the  sovereigns  who  figure  in  history,  the 
monuments  of  this  epoch  have  restored  the  princes  whose 
reigns  and  whose  names  were  unknown,  or  at  least  uncer- 
tain. Such  are  the  young  Ptolemy  Cœsar , the  son  of  the 
dictator  Julius  Cæsar  and  of  the  last  Cleopatra,  called 
sometimes  Cæsarion , and  who  reigned  under  the  guardi- 
anship of  his  mother  ; a queen  Berenice , wife  of  the  first 
Ptolemy  Alexander;  another  named  Cleopatra  Tryphœne , 
whose  existence  was  unknown;  an  infant  Ptolemy  Eupha- 
tor,  son  of  the  king  Philometor,  whose  short  reign  was  ter- 
minated by  a barbarous  uncle  who  assassinated  him  ; Philip , 
surnamed  Arideus,  brother  of  Alexander  the  great,  whose 
reign  over  Egypt,  after  the  conquering  Macedonian,  was 
not  before  known  ; another  Alexander,  son  of  Alexander 
the  great  and  Roxana,  who  appears  to  have  succeeded  his 
uncle  Philip*  ; finally,  a prince  who  was  foreign  to  Egypt, 
but  who  was  sovereign  of  the  neighboring  country  of 
Ethiopia  ; his  name,  Erg  amenés,  is  preserved  by  Diodorus 
Siculus  (hi.  6).  The  monuments  afford  reason  to  believe 
that  he  reigned  over  Nubia  ; and  the  hieroglyphic  legends 
of  the  ancient  Pselcis , show  that  he  was  cotemporary  with 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  as  the  Greek  historian  informs  us. 

The  conquering  dynasty  of  the  Persians  did  not  escape 
the  researches  of  Champollion.  From  appearances,  there 
w as  little  foundation  for  a hope  of  finding,  upon  the  Egyp- 
tian monuments,  the  names  of  these  ferocious  conquerors, 


*This  brother  and  son  of  the  conqueror  are  mentioned  in  a canon 
of  the  kings,  on  a head  of  Almagestes  ; but  no  monument  had  before 
confirmed  the  fact  of  their  reign  over  Egypt. 


56 


who  were  more  occupied,  in  unfortunate  Egypt,  with  the 
work  of  destroying  than  of  building  up.  But  the  legends 
of  various  monuments  have  given  to  Champollion  the  names 
of  Cambyses,  of  Darius,  of  Artaxerxes,  and  of  Xerxes.  A 
very  remarkable  monument  belongs  to  this  last  prince, 
which  we  cannot  refrain  from  noticing  here.  It  is  a vase 
of  eastern  alabaster  belonging  to  the  cabinet  of  the  king,* 
and  presenting  a hieroglyphic  inscription  with  the  royal 
cartouche  of  the  Persian  monarch  ; but  it  is  accompanied 
with  a series  of  cuneiform  characters,  that  is  to  say,  such 
as  belong  to  the  ancient  writing  of  Persia,  and  such  as  are 
found  upon  the  old  monuments  of  Persepolis.  This  second 
inscription  expresses  the  same  name,  as  St.  Martin  found, 
who  has  been  a long  time  employed  in  restoring  the 
Persepolitan  alphabet. 

In  tracing  the  succession  of  Egyptian  sovereigns, 
Champollion  soon  found  upon  certain  monuments  the 
names  of  the  Pharaohs  Acoris,  Nephereüs,  Nepherites , 
and  the  two  Nectcmebi,  princes  who  for  a long  period  de- 
fended the  liberty  of  Egypt  against  the  power  of  the  Per- 
sians. He  has  found  most  of  the  Pharaohs  of  the  twenty 
sixth  dynasty,  Psammenites , Amasis,  Apries,  Psammet- 
ichus  II.,  Nechao  II.,  PsammeticJms  I.,  Ammeris  ; the 
twenty  fifth  and  twenty  third  entire  t ; three  sovereigns  of 
the  twenty  second,  TaJceUotJiis,  Osorchon  and  Sesonchis ; 
two  of  the  twenty  first,  Psousenes  I.,  and  Smendis  or  Mon- 
des who  is  the  chief.J  The  monuments  have  besides 

* Précis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique , pp.  231  and  233.  The  vase 
is  engraved  in  the  Recueil  d’ Antiquités  of  Caylus,  tom.  v.  pi.  30. 

f The  twenty  fourth  dynasty  was  formed  by  Rochoris  alone. 

t The  names  of  the  twelve  kings  of  the  twentieth  dynasty  exist 
upon  the  Egyptian  edifices,  as  Champollion  observes  ; hut  the  ab- 
breviators  of  Manetho  not  having  preserved  the  list,  a close  exami- 
nation becomes  necessary  of  the  monuments  and  of  the  order  of  the 
cartouches,  to  acquire  the  names  in  their  true  arrangement.  The 
travels  of  the  learned  Frenchman  in  Egypt,  will  without  doubt  ena- 
ble him  to  supply  this  deficiency. 


57 


afforded  him  the  whole  of  the  nineteenth,  from  Thuoris 
who  was  cotemporary  with  the  Trojan  war,  and  who  ap- 
pears to  be  the  Polybus  of  Homer,  down  to  the  celebra- 
ted conqueror  Ramses  the  Great;  and  the  eighteenth, 
from  Ramses  Amenophis  to  Miphra  Thoutlimosis , who 
drove  away  the  Shepherds.  This  dynasty  of  the  Shep- 
herds counts  for  the  seventeenth,  in  the  fragments  of  Ma- 
netho  ; but  it  corresponds  with  a dynasty  of  Egyptian  kings, 
about  wrhich  the  lists  heretofore  existing  are  all  silent.  The 
monuments  have  restored  to  Champollion  this  royal  family  ; 
at  least  they  have  acquainted  him  with  the  number  and 
first  names  of  the  sovereigns  who  composed  it.  Beyond 
this  epoch,  nothing  definite  is  known  ; the  name  of  Man - 
douei  only  is  found,  which  is  perhaps  the  same  as  the  Osy- 
mandias  of  Diodorus. 

All  these  results,  too  consistent  to  be  doubted,  are  con- 
firmed, for  the  most  part,  by  two  monuments  which  are  of  a 
peculiar  order  and  of  high  importance  to  the  chronology 
of  Egyptian  history.  The  first  is  the  celebrated  table  of 
Abydos,  which  has  forty  royal  first  names , classed  in  their 
chronological  order,  and  sculptured  in  a temple  of  an  an- 
cient city  of  the  Theba'is,  as  it  was  called  by  the  Greeks, 
j[i.  e.  Upper  Egypt.]  Designs  were  taken  of  it  by  Mr. 
Bankes,  and  by  our  countryman  M.  Calliaud,  and  it  was 
at  a later  period  reproduced  by  Champollion  in  his  Letters 
upon  the  Turin  Museum  * This  monument,  although  it 
has  been  partly  destroyed  by  the  waste  of  the  wall  where 
it  was  placed,  has  been  of  great  service  in  determining 
the  order  of  the  sovereigns  contained  in  the  cartouches  of 
the  Egyptian  legends.  For  it  evidently  exhibits  a genea- 
logical list  of  many  dynasties  of  the  Pharaohs — a list  which 
terminates  with  the  first  king  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty, 
whose  last  name  it  gives  ; the  prœnomina  which  it  contains, 


* Second  Lettre  sur  le  Musée  de  Turin , pl.  6. 


5S 


belong  then  to  the  predecessors  of  this  Pharaoh,  and  the 
order  of  these  fore-names  being  indicated,  we  are  thus 
made  acquainted  with  the  order  of  the  after-names  or 
second  naines  which  on  other  monuments  accompany  the 
fore-names.  The  order  of  descents  mentioned  in  certain 
hieroglyphic  legends,  which  unite  the  name  of  the  prince 
with  that  of  his  father,  are  also  in  perfect  agreement 
with  the  lists  of  Abydos. 

There  is  also  a curious  manuscript,  found  still  later  by 
Champollion  among  the  fragments  of  papyrus  in  the  Turin 
Museum,*  and  which  is  in  a state  of  mutilation  very  much 
to  be  regretted.  It  was  a genealogical  tablet , which  by 
its  arrangement  presents  to  view  the  chronological  canon 
of  Manetho.  It  gives  a list  of  more  than  one  hundred 
kings  ; and  therefore  in  its  actually  imperfect  state,  it  still 
forms  a precious  supplement  to  the  table  of  Abydos. 

We  see  then  in  what  way  the  chronological  materials 
found  by  Champollion,  prove  to  be  important.  They 
could  not  long  remain  isolated  ; their  number  and  their 
relation  was  such,  that  they  might  be  united  and  form  a 
whole.  The  brother  of  the  author  of  so  many  discoveries, 
Champollion  Figeac , was  charged  with  this  labor.  He 
has  collected  and  put  in  order  the  materials  furnished  by 
the  author,  and  has  in  this  way  established,  according  to 
the  monuments,  the  succession  of  a great  number  of  Egyp- 
tian dynasties,  such  as  the  abbreviators  of  Manetho  have 
designated.  Two  of  his  Chronological  Notices  were  pub- 
lished after  the  Letters  upon  the  Turin  Museum ,t  and  we 
wait  for  the  third  which  will  terminate  this  undertaking, 
with  all  that  impatience  which  the  researches  of  these  two 
learned  brothers  are  adapted  to  inspire. 

Thus  the  first  result  of  the  hieroglyphic  discovery  has 

* Bulletin  des  sciences  historiques,  tom.  n.  p.  302. 

t Lettre  1st,  p.  93,  and  Lettre  2nd,  p.  130. 


59 


been,  to  establish  the  chronology  of  the  ancient  Egyptian 
history.  Henceforth  this  history  will  be  as  certain  as  those 
of  other  ancient  countries  ; and  besides  this,  the  state  of 
certain  epochs  will  be  more  clearly  known.  Though  this 
were  the  only  result,  we  should  yet  owe  much  to  the  labors 
of  Champollion.  We  shall  see,  however,  that  many  more 
uses  can  be  made  of  his  invaluable  discovery. 

2.  The  mythology  of  Egypt  was  still  more  obscure  than 
its  history.  Hardly  anything  was  known  respecting  it 
except  from  a few  authors  of  ancient  Greece,  who  them- 
selves appear  to  have  understood  but  little  about  it.  They 
are  very  far  from  having  enumerated  all  the  divinities  ado- 
red in  Egypt  ; and  those  which  they  have  mentioned,  are 
often  disguised  under  the  Greek  names  by  which  they  at- 
tempted to  describe  their  primitive  denominations.  These 
names,  which  of  course  had  nothing  of  the  Egyptian 
physiognomy,  confounded  the  Egyptian  divinities  with  the 
gods  of  Greece. 

The  readings  of  the  papyri  and  of  the  monumental 
legends,  must  make  amends  for  the  silence,  or  correct  the 
errors,  of  ancient  authors,  and  must  throw  light  upon  this 
interesting  part  of  the  institutions  of  a people  eminently 
devoted  to  objects  of  a religious  nature.  This  people, 
which  wrote  anciently  more  than  any  other,  traced  often 
upon  the  productions  of  their  arts  the  names  of  objects  they 
washed  to  represent  ; and  the  brief  inscriptions  which  ac- 
company the  images  of  their  various  objects  of  worship 
having  now  become  intelligible,  their  true  Egyptian  names 
will  probably  be  revealed,  and  perhaps  their  titles,  their 
functions  and  their  rank  among  the  divinities.  This  is, 
in  fact,  one  new  result  of  the  reading  of  Egyptian  legends. 

In  his  Precis  du  Système  hiéroglyphique,  Champollion 
has  already  published  the  Egyptian  names  of  many  divini- 
ties, which  were  formerly  adored  upon  the  banks  of  thé 


60 


Nile.  He  has  not  limited  his  researches  to  determining 
these  names  merely  (a  labor  not  yet  completed),  but  he 
had  another  end  in  view.  In  a special  work  formed  upon 
a much  more  extensive  plan,*  he  has  undertaken  to  unveil 
the  mysteries  of  Egyptian  mythology,  by  means  of  monu- 
ments which  relate  to  the  notices  left  us  by  writers  of  anti- 
quity ; and  a part  of  this  important  labor  has  been  already 
executed  with  complete  success.  In  reproducing  upon 
colored  plates  images  of  mythological  personages,  he  has 
accompanied  them  with  texts  explaining  their  names  upon 
the  monuments  ; the  genealogical  rank  of  each,  their  at- 
tributes, their  relations  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  divinities, 
which  the  writers  of  these  two  nations  describe,  and  the 
conclusions  which  may  be  drawn  concerning  them  from  a 
comparison  of  monuments.  Among  these  names  many 
are  entirely  new,  and  divinities  are  revealed  to  us  who 
were  entirely  unknown  to  the  ancient  authors  whose  writ- 
ings we  possess.  But  there  are  other  indices,  also,  which 
assist  in  furnishing  the  means  of  assigning  to  them  their 
place  in  the  Pantheon  of  ancient  Egypt. 

These  learned  researches,  which  illustrate  the  mythology 
of  this  celebrated  people,  are  useful  also  in  their  applica- 
tion to  monuments  that  have  no  inscriptions.  The  figures, 
the  costumes,  and  the  attributes  of  each  mythological  per- 
sonage being  known,  they  can  be  recognized  with  cer- 
tainty in  all  their  images  ; and  there  will  be  no  danger  of 
seeing,  as  Caylus  did,  even  in  every  funereal  representation, 
an  Isis,  an  Osiris,  a Horus,  or  the  priests  of  these  three 
divinities  characterized  by  their  peculiar  symbols. 

The  reading  of  inscriptions  and  of  the  papyri,  has  been 

*Panthéon  Égyptien,  collection  des  personnages  mythologiques 
de  V ancienne  Égypte,  avec  un  text  explicatif,  etc.,  and  the  figures 
d’après  les  dessins  de  M.  Dubois.  Paris,  gr.  in  4to,  Firmin  Didot. 
This  work  is  to  consist  of  thirty  numbers,  of  which  thirteen  are  pub- 
lished. 


61 


of  still  farther  use  in  developing  the  ceremonies  of  Egyp- 
tian worship.  We  cite  only  the  stelœ  as  examples,  which 
generally  represent  acts  of  adoration,  and  upon  which  can 
be  read  not  only  the  names  of  the  dead  and  of  their  fami- 
lies, but  the  prayers  addressed  to  the  gods  in  their  behalf, 
the  explanation  of  offerings  and  other  details.  We  might 
adduce  here  many  circumstances  of  the  funeral  scenes 
represented  upon  coffins,  in  manuscripts,  etc.,  which  all 
have  an  intimate  connection  with  religion.  [See  App.  M.] 
3.  In  relation  to  the  arts,  the  reading  of  Egyptian  writ- 
ings has  produced  as  many  results  as  in  other  respects,  and 
promises  many  more  of  a highly  interesting  nature. 

Among  the  monuments  studied  by  our  celebrated  coun- 
tryman, principally  in  the  Turin  Museum,  were  found  nu- 
merous colossal  statues  ; they  are  more  or  less  remarkable 
for  the  material  of  which  they  are  made,  or  for  their  exe- 
cution. But  whatever  may  be  their  perfection  as  a whole, 
the  heads  are  generally  very  carefully  constructed.  The 
cartouches  found  upon  them  determine  that  they  belong  to 
the  time  of  the  Pharaohs  whose  names  they  bear,  and  the 
repetition  of  the  same  features  upon  other  large  statues,  upon 
figures  of  smaller  proportions,  and  upon  monuments  of  a 
different  kind,  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  these  statues 
have  a perfect  resemblance  to  the  sovereigns  whose  memo- 
ries they  were  intended  to  perpetuate.  In  this  way  many 
portraits  of  the  Pharaohs  are  known,  and  Champollion 
might  give  us  an  Egyptian  Iconography , as  the  celebrated 
Visconti  has  given  us  Grech  and  Roman  Iconographies , 
[i.  e.  series  of  portraits  or  likenesses.] 

But  there  is  a more  general  and  important  result  con- 
nected with  the  critical  history  of  Egyptian  arts,  which 
should  be  unravelled  and  reduced  to  certain  principles. 
The  celebrated  Winckelmann,  to  whom  the  arts  are  cer- 
tainly much  indebted,  knew  much  more  about  those  of 


6 


62 


Greece  and  Rome  than  he  did  about  those  of  Egypt  ; for 
in  his  time,  there  was  opportunity  to  study  only  a few 
monuments  which  were  collected  without  selection  in  the 
museums  of  Europe.  The  somewhat  superficial  theory 
which  he  built  upon  their  authority,  has  occasioned  in  the 
world,  and  even  among  men  who  were  especially  devoted  to 
this  kind  of  study,  notions  far  from  being  exact,  to  say  noth- 
ing more.  Thus,  not  only  was  the  supposed  obligation  rest- 
ing upon  Egyptian  artists  to  imitate  servilely  a very  limited 
number  of  primitive  types,  literally  admitted  ; but  it  was 
also  a received  opinion  that  the  monuments  of  Egypt  pos- 
sessed no  kind  of  beauty,  and  that  their  antiquity  consti- 
tuted their  only  merit.  So  also,  the  superiority  of  the 
Grecian  school  over  that  of  the  Egyptian,  during  the 
domination  of  the  Lagidæ  and  of  the  Roman  Emperors, 
was  for  a long  period  believed,  and  every  object  which 
had  a merit  superior  to  the  standard  that  had  been  gra- 
tuitously formed  concerning  the  style  of  art  in  the  time  of 
the  Pharaohs,  was  ranked  in  that  class  called  the  second 
style  or  the  Egyptian-Greek. 

These  premature  judgments,  which  were  not  founded 
upon  facts  nor  upon  a sufficiently  profound  study,  have 
been  curiously  modified,  or  rather  totally  changed  by  the 
progress  of  Egyptian  researches.  An  attentive  and  im- 
partial examination  of  the  monuments  that  our  museums 
now  possess,  and  the  use  of  copies,  in  which  the  crayon  and 
the  graver  have  reproduced  those  which  cover  the  soil  of 
Egypt  with  a fidelity  not  known  until  the  last  fifty  years, 
has  sufficed  to  restore  Egyptian  art  from  the  unjust  dis- 
grace with  which  it  had  been  overwhelmed.  It  is  in 
fact  impossible  not  to  perceive,  that  Egyptian  architec- 
ture, though  inferior  in  elegance  to  the  Grecian,  still  has 
its  own  kind  of  purity , that  it  presents  admirable  profiles 
and  details,  and  that  it  surpasses  its  rival  in  grandeur  and 


63 


imposing  effect*  It  must  be  seen  also,  that  Egyptian 
sculpture,  which  was  not  usually  confined  to  an  exclusive 
imitation  of  given  models,  but  was  regulated  by  the  im- 
portant destination  of  its  works, t exhibits  often  in  its  most 
prominent  parts,  which  are  the  heads  of  men  or  animals, 
a truth  and  a life  that  would  support  a comparison  of  its 
chefs  d'œuvre  with  the  products  of  the  Grecian  chisel. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  also,  that  although  painting 
among  this  people  may  fail  in  correctness  of  design,  in 
perspective,  and  in  the  inseparable  effect  of  shades; 
although  it  may  participate  in  the  general  stiffness  of  the 
Egyptian  style  ; still  the  vivacity  and  adroit  distribution 
of  colors  strike  the  eye  very  agreeably,  and  produce  no 
small  degree  of  effect.  Lastly,  among  even  the  most 
common  objects,  a large  number  recommend  themselves 
to  notice,  by  the  purity  of  their  forms,  the  precision  and 
ease  of  their  ornaments  and  hieroglyphics,  and  the  per- 
fection of  their  mechanical  execution. 

The  discoveries  of  Champollion  have  effected  more. 
The  inscriptions  upon  the  above  mentioned  monuments 
have  fixed  the  chronology  of  art,  as  they  have  established, 

* One  may  perhaps,  in  this  respect,  compare  it  with  the  architec- 
ture not  improperly  called  Gothic.  Thi3  was  also  despised  as  barba- 
rous, even  by  artists  unable  to  execute  any  thing  like  the  Grecian 
architecture.  Happily  this  deplorable  error  is  done  away. 

t Egyptian  architects  understood  perfectly  the  harmony  of  lines  ; 
hence  the  sculpture  which  they  often  employed  as  auxiliary,  exhibits 
the  stiffness  with  which  it  is  frequently  reproached.  Statues  serv- 
ing as  ornaments  to  architecture,  either  in  edifices  themselves  or  in 
the  avenues  which  lead  to  them,  ought  to  be  viewed  as  united  with 
parts  purely  architectural  ; and  if  more  movement  had  been  given 
to  them,  it  would  have  broken  the  ensemble  of  their  lines,  and  de- 
stroyed that  regularity  which  architecture  claims.  The  grave  char- 
acter of  the  Egyptian  people,  a character  quite  opposed  to  the  levity 
of  the  Greeks,  and  the  nature  of  their  climate  which  makes  repose 
one  of  the  chief  necessities  of  life,  may  likewise  account  for  the  gen- 
eral positions  observable  in  the  works  of  their  sculptors. 


04 


concurrently  with  the  lists  of  Manetho,  that  of  history.  In 
fact  the  names  of  the  Pharaohs,  of  the  Ptolemies,  and  of 
the  Cæsars,  inscribed  upon  Egyptian  edifices,  incontes- 
tably prove  that  these  various  edifices,  or  different  portions 
of  the  same  edifices,  must  be  attributed  to  the  respective 
princes  whose  names  they  bear.  The  same  is  true  of  all 
written  monuments  which  contain  in  their  legends  royal 
names  or  surnames,  not  to  speak  of  those,  which  more 
positively  still,  like  many  of  the  stelœ  and  the  papyri,  fix 
the  dates  of  princes  in  years,  months,  and  days.  These 
monuments  all  afford,  then,  the  certain  means  of  knowing 
their  age  ; of  following,  in  the  series  of  their  productions, 
the  rise  or  decay  of  the  arts  in  Egypt  ; and  of  forming  a 
definite  judgment  upon  the  great  question  of  Greek  or 
Roman  influence.  Such  a judgment,  the  certainty  and 
evidence  of  which  cannot  be  contested,  has  reversed  all 
the  old  systems  on  this  subject. 

It  has  been  found  by  Champollion,  and  by  all  those 
who  have  followed  the  development  of  his  admirable 
labors,  that  the  most  beautiful  of  those  monuments  which 
remain  upon  the  soil  of  Egypt,  or  of  those  which  either  in 
ancient  or  modern  times  have  been  transported  into 
Europe  ; those  which  excite  the  highest  admiration  among 
well  informed  men  and  connoisseurs  in  the  arts  ; — those, 
in  a word,  which  have  been  thought  to  belong  to  the  sec- 
ond epoch  of  Egyptian  style  (such  as  most  of  the  monu- 
ments of  Thebes  and  many  of  Nubia),  do,  on  the  contrary, 
relate  to  th q first  epoch,  and  belong  to  the  kings  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty,  and  to  the  first  kings  of  the  nineteenth, 
whose  names  or  surnames  may  be  read  upon  them.  It  is 
equally  well  proved,  that  edifices  and  monuments,  which 
at  first  sight  would  be  judged  inferior,  and  upon  which 
experienced  men,  like  Messrs.  Huyot  et  Gau,  have  found 
evident  manifestations  of  the  decay  of  Egyptian  art,  such 


65 


as  the  temples  of  Ombos,  of  Philos,  of  Dendera,  and  of 
Esne,  contain  in  their  inscriptions  the  names  of  the  La- 
gidæ  or  of  the  Roman  emperors;  and  they  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  the  epoch,  when  the  Greeks  or  Ro- 
mans swayed  the  ancient  empire  of  the  Pharaohs.  The 
monuments  of  the  seventeenth  dynasty  are  very  inferior  to 
those  of  the  eighteenth  ; the  small  number  of  objects  recog- 
nized as  belonging  to  an  epoch  preceding  this,  prove  the 
infancy  of  art  in  that  preceding  period  ; and  all  which  are 
intermediate  between  the  epoch  of  the  great  Diospolitan 
families  and  that  of  the  Ptolemies  or  Cæsars,  participate 
more  or  less  in  the  perfection  or  decay  of  Egyptian  style, 
according  as  they  approach  nearer,  or  are  remote  from, 
the  first  or  second  of  these  two  ages.  [See  App.  N.] 

These  certain  principles,  for  they  are  founded  upon 
facts,  prove  that  the  influence  of  the  conquerors  was  more 
destructive  than  beneficial  to  the  arts  of  primitive  Egypt. 
They  tend  likewise  to  constitute  a monumental  standard 
for  Egyptian  arts,  even  more  sure  than  that  formed  for 
Greece  and  Rome  from  the  comparative  examination  of 
their  productions,  and  they  are  a page  well  worthy  of 
attention  in  the  highly  interesting  history  of  ancient  civili- 
zation. Champollion  has  promised  us  a special  work  on 
the  chronology  of  the  monuments  of  Egypt,  which  he  is 
to  execute  in  concert  with  M.  Huyot  ; his  travels  will 
doubtless  furnish  him  with  new  materials  for  this  impor- 
tant publication. 

We  now  finish  details,  which  we  might  extend  much 
farther  ; but  we  believe  that  we  have  sufficiently  shown 
the  certainty  of  the  hieroglyphic  system,  and  the  impor- 
tance of  its  results.  Here  terminates,  then,  the  first  part 
of  our  Essay . 


6* 


PART  II. 


APPLICATION  OF  THE  HIEROGLYPHIC  SYSTEM  TO  THE 
SACRED  WRITINGS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PRELIMINARY  OBSERVATIONS. 

Relations  of  the  Hebrews  with  the  Egyptians.  Connection  of  their  histories. 
Analogy  in  the  manners  of  both  nations.  Utility  of  the  reading  of  hiero- 
glyphics, in  respect  to  sacred  history  which  relates  to  Egypt. 

In  our  first  part,  we  have  presented  our  readers  with 
the  basis  of  Champollion’s  discovery,  and  with  the  most 
important  principles  of  his  system.  This  explanation, 
which  we  have  abridged  as  much  as  possible,  was  indis- 
pensable for  our  object,  and  it  will  enable  us  to  understand 
what  follows.  We  come  now  to  the  most  essential  part  of 
our  labor,  - that  is  to  say,  we  shall  now  apply  to  the  holy 
Scriptures  the  facts  we  have  learned  from  hieroglyphics, 
either  to  explain,  or  to  defend  the  sacred  books  of  Chris- 
tians ; and  we  hope  to  show  clearly  in  what  way  the  read- 
ing of  the  ancient  Egyptian  writings,  so  interesting  in  itself 
considered,  is  important  to  religion. 

1.  Of  all  countries  foreign  to  Judea,  none  is  so  con- 
spicuous in  the  Bible  as  Egypt.  Its  name  is  found  upon 
nearly  all  the  historic  pages  of  the  Old  Testament.  With 
the  Egyptian  people,  the  Hebrews  had  more  ancient,  more 
frequent,  and  more  intimate  relations,  than  with  any  other. 


67 


These  relations  are  pointed  out  to  us  by  the  sacred  writers, 
as  subsisting  from  the  time  of  Abraham  down  to  the  ruin 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  in  Babylonia. 
The  father  of  the  faithful  travelled  in  Egypt,  to  avoid  the 
famine  which  desolated  the  land  of  Canaan.  Jacob  and 
his  sons  went  down  there  under  similar  circumstances; 
and  the  posterity  of  Israel  sojourned  there  for  more  than 
two  centuries.  Before  he  became  the  chief  and  the  legis- 
lator of  his  people,  Moses  was  instructed  in  all  the  wisdom 
of  this  renowned  nation.  Solomon  espoused  the  daughter 
of  an  Egyptian  sovereign.  Shishac  entered  into  Judea 
with  a strong  army  and  took  Jerusalem,  under  the  reign 
of  Rehoboam.  The  Ethiopian  Zerah  likewise  made  war 
upon  the  pious  king  Asa.  But  many  other  Pharaohs  were 
the  allies  and  auxiliaries  of  the  kings  of  Judah  ; and  when 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  reduced  the  Hebrews  to  servitude, 
Egypt  became  an  asylum  for  a very  large  number  of  Jews. 
Finally,  a very  remarkable  fact  must  be  noticed  ; when  the 
Lord  so  severely  interdicted  to  his  people  all  communica- 
tion with  neighboring  nations,  and  pointed  them  out  as  an 
object  of  horror  and  an  abomination  ; after  excepting  from 
this  general  reprobation  the  children  of  Edom,  because 
they  had  a common  origin  with  the  children  of  Israel,  he 
likewise  excepts  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt,  with  whom  the 
Hebrews  had  long  enjoyed  the  rights  of  hospitality.  Thou 
shalt  not  abhor  an  Edomite^  for  he  is  thy  brother  ; thou 
shall  not  abhor  an  Egyptian , for  thou  wast  a stranger  in 
his  land.  (Deuter.  xxiii.  7.) 

2.  Hence  it  follows  that  the  history  of  the  people  of 
God,  blended  with  that  of  Egypt  in  early  times,  was  also 
essentially  connected  with  it  at  many  other  epochs,  and 
that  in  order  thoroughly  to  understand  the  former,  we 
must  be  well  acquainted  with  the  latter.  He  who  would 
study  in  detail  the  historic  annals  of  the  Hebrews,  ought 


68 


then  to  connect  them  with  those  of  ancient  Egypt.  He 
ought  to  search  with  interest,  in  the  series  of  Egyptian 
dynasties,  for  the  Pharaohs  whom  the  holy  books  point  out 
as  the  allies  or  enemies  of  Israel  ; he  ought  to  inquire  into 
the  epochs  which  separate  ages,  the  synchronisms  of  events 
which  concern  both  people  ; into  the  geography  of  Egypt, 
the  names  and  position  of  cities  and  places  referred  to  by 
the  sacred  writers  ; and  it  is  only  by  means  of  this  com- 
parative study,  that  any  important  results  connected  with 
biblical  criticism  can  be  obtained.  This  is  what  histo- 
rians and  interpreters  have  sought  to  do,  who  have  labored 
to  comment  upon  and  illustrate  the  narratives  of  the  Old 
Testament,  so  interesting  to  every  well  instructed  man, 
even  when,  leaving  out  of  account  their  divine  inspiration, 
these  narratives  are  considered  only  as  the  most  ancient 
historic  monuments.  Profane  erudition,  when  employed 
as  an  auxiliary  to  sacred  criticism,  has  often  served,  in  the 
hands  of  learned  and  judicious  men,  by  fortunate  colla- 
tions, to  render  more  intelligible  passages  of  Scripture 
which  were  before  difficult  to  explain.  But  notwithstand- 
ing their  zeal  and  their  labors,  much  is  yet  left  to  do,  and 
especially  in  relation  to  Egypt,  whose  history  heretofore 
has  been  but  imperfectly  known,  and  about  which  our 
only  guides,  the  Greek  and  Roman  authors,  who  were 
themselves  but  little  familiar  with  the  subject,  have  left 
often  false  ideas  or  inexact  notions,  which  it  has  been 
impossible  to  rectify  for  want  of  other  resources. 

3.  The  numerous  communications  of  the  Hebrews  with 
the  Egyptians,  and  especially  the  long  sojourn  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs,  produces  ano- 
ther natural  consequence  which  has  not  been  sufficiently 
appreciated.  Two  nations  mingled  together,  whatever 
might  be  the  character  of  their  relations,  would  in  time 
necessarily  make  interchanges  in  their  language,  their 


69 


costume  and  their  manners  ; and  their  very  mode  of  ex- 
istence, or  (if  you  please)  their  moral  physiognomy,  modi- 
fied by  the  circumstances  which  have  placed  them  in 
contact,  must  in  the  end  receive  an  impression  more  or 
less  marked.  All  history  attests  this  truth,  and  often 
exhibits  to  us  even  the  vanquished  exercising  a moral  and 
irresistible  influence  over  their  conquerors.  We  may  then 
reasonably  suppose  that  such  was  the  case  with  the  Israel- 
ites and  Egyptians,  and  we  remember  that  the  sacred 
writers  make  mention  of  the  Jewish  people  as  strongly 
disposed  to  imitate  other  nations — a propensity  which 
often  led  them  to  provoke  the  Lord  by  their  practices  of 
idolatry.  We  will  cite  two  facts  which  go  to  prove  this 
exchange  of  customs.  If  it  is  true,  as  many  learned  men 
believe,  that  circumcision  was  practised  among  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  it  seems  probable  that  they  borrowed  this  cere- 
mony from  the  Israelites,  rather  than  from  the  Arabs  the 
descendants  of  Ishmael,  with  whom  they  must  have  had 
much  less  communication.* 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  certain  that  the  children  of 
Is*rael  adopted  in  'Egypt  the  custom  of  embalming  bodies, 
in  imitation  of  the  Egyptians.  Scripture  informs  us  that 
it  was  practised  upon  the  bodies  of  Jacob  and  of  Joseph 
( Gen . l.  2 and  3,  ibid.  25).  The  sacred  historian  enters 
into  some  details,  conformable  to  those  which  profane 
writers  have  left,  on  the  manner  of  embalming  among 
the  Egyptians,  and,  to  give  a reason  for  this  new  proceed- 
ing among  the  Hebrews,  he  formally  announces  that  such 

* Many  mummies  are  so  well  preserved  as  to  verify  this  fact  ; and 
an  examination  of  them  has  proved  that  all  males  exhibit  traces  of  this 
operation.  It  is  necessary  only  to  decide  whether  it  was  practised 
upon  living  persons,  or  whether  it  formed  a part  of  the  funeral  cere- 
monies. However  this  may  be,  it  confirms  remarkably  what  Hero- 
dotus relates  (n.  36),  concerning  the  use  of  circumcision  among  the 
Egyptians. 


70 


was  the  custom  of  the  country  ; such  teas  the  custom  of 
the  Egyptians.  If  the  Israelites  at  a later  period,  when 
wandering  in  the  desert  or  established  in  the  land  of 
promise,  did  not  retain  entire  the  mode  of  sepulture  they 
had  before  adopted  ; at  least  some  details  in  the  holy 
books,  among  the  rest  the  use  of  bandages,  indicated  in 
the  narrative  of  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  (John  xi.  44), 
afford  reason  to  think  that  many  of  their  funeral  rites, 
even  after  their  return  from  captivity,  were  the  same  as 
those  which  they  had  seen  practised  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 

We  must  limit  ourselves  here  to  a few  among  numerous 
facts  of  the  same  kind  ; for  there  existed  other  common 
usages  among  nations  which  were  so  often  and  for  so  long 
a time  related.  This  conformity  would  be  a very  inter- 
esting subject  of  study,  and  it  might  form  an  important 
page  in  an  extensive  history  of  national  manners;  but 
documents  have  been  wanting,  and  these  curious  analogies 
have  remained  heretofore  unperceived  by  the  greater  part 
of  the  learned.  Marsham,  in  his  Chronicus  Canon,  treats 
of  this  subject,  but  he  has  adopted  a system  of  so  wide  an 
extent,  that  he  excited  strong  disapprobation.  He  seems 
to  view  all  the  Hebrew  rites  as  imitations  of  those  prac- 
tised by  the  Egyptians.  This  opinion,  however,  when 
confined  to  very  narrow  limits,  may  perhaps  approach  quite 
near  the  truth. 

4.  It  is  then  indisputable,  and  it  has  long  been  under- 
stood, that  the  Hebrews  and  Egyptians  should  be  studied 
together  and  in  their  relations  ; that  the  customs  and 
history  of  Egypt,  if  better  studied  and  better  understood, 
would  throw  great  light  upon  the  history  and  customs  of 
the  people  of  God  ; in  a word,  that  the  Pharaonic  antiqui- 
ties, if  it  were  possible  to  lift  up  the  veil,  would  form  the 
best  historic  commentary  upon  a portion  of  the  holy  books, 


71 


and  especially  upon  the  Pentateuch.  But  we  were,  not 
long  since,  still  far  from  this  result.  To  know  Egypt, 
its  history  and  customs,  to  facilitate  the  comparative  study 
of  the  two  nations,  the  banks  of  the  Nile  must  needs  be 
explored  with  the  most  untiring  perseverance  ; their  monu- 
ments, sketched  with  care,  must  be  compared  and  com- 
mented upon  with  judgment;  and  especially,  which  we 
hardly  dared  to  expect,  they  must  cease  to  be  unintelligible 
to  us.  Such  is  now  the  case  ; the  land  of  the  Pharaohs 
has  been  visited  by  numerous  and  learned  travellers,  and, 
for  the  first  time,  an  army  has  been  seen  extending  its 
protection  to  the  peaceable  researches  of  science.  Egypt 
has  been  described  in  a work  where  all  the  arts  are 
displayed  with  a magnificence  truly  regal.  Finally,  Provi- 
dence, which  has  directed  in  our  age  the  discovery  of 
hieroglyphics,  has  given  a mouth  to  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments, which  for  so  many  centuries  have  been  wrapped  in 
silence.  Should  not  this  happy  concurrence  of  circum- 
stances lead  us  to  hope  for  many  most  important  aids  to 
sacred  criticism?  In  proportion  as  the  science  which 
owes  its  origin  to  Champollion,  shall  successively  reach 
the  developments  it  promises,  we  must  see  those  narratives 
of  the  sacred  books  in  which  Egypt  is  so  conspicuous, 
more  and  more  confirmed  and  illustrated  ; and  already, 
though  the  study  of  hieroglyphics  is  in  its  infancy,  many 
precious  documents  have  aided  in  the  understanding  and 
defence  of  the  Scriptures.  Pope  Leo  XII.  fully  compre- 
hended this  subject.  In  encouraging  by  all  the  weight  of 
his  influence  the  learned  labors  of  Champollion,  he  did  not 
confine  himself  to  viewing  this  event  simply  as  one  of  the 
most  notable  in  the  calendar  of  human  knowledge,  but  he 
perceived  in  it  an  invaluable  source  of  positive  data  con- 
cerning the  history  of  the  people  of  God  in  their  relations 


72 


to  Egypt.*  We  shall  see  in  the  following  chapters,  the 
philological,  historical,  and  geographical  results  which 
grow  out  of  the  application  of  hieroglyphics  to  the  sacred 
books,  and  the  means  which  they  afford  for  a satisfactory 
solution  of  certain  very  weighty  difficulties. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PHILOLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

Relations  between  the  Egyptian  writings  and  those  of  the  Hebrews.  Analo- 
gies between  the  style  of  the  sacred  writings  and  that  of  certain  hiero- 
glyphic legends.  Egyptian  names  preserved  in  the  Bible. 

Learned  men  have  for  a long  time  conjectured  that 
some  relations  existed  between  the  Hebrew  and  Egyptian 
languages.  We  may  indeed  suppose  that  language,  so 
important  a part  of  national  usages,  could  not  remain  unin- 
fluenced by  the  mutual  and  frequent  communications  of 
the  Israelites  and  Egyptians.  The  Egyptian  monuments, 
decyphered  by  Champollion,  support  this  conjecture,  and 
reveal  many  examples  of  this  kind  of  analogy.  We  will 
notice  here  only  those  which  are  the  best  established  and 
the  most  striking. 

* A letter  from  the  Duke  of  Laval-Montmorency,  our  ambassador  at 
Rome,  addressed  to  the  minister,  expresses  this  opinion  of  the  sove- 
reign pontiff  in  a manner  very  flattering  to  Champollion  and  to  France. 
The  head  of  the  Church  desired  that  the  king  should  know  the  judg- 
ment of  his  Holiness  with  regard  to  the  labors  of  the  learned  man. 

[The  reader  will  remember,  in  perusing  this  note,  that  the  writer 
is  a member  of  the  Romish  church  ; which  accounts  for  the  style 
here  employed. — Tr.] 


73 


In  the  table  of  phonetic,  hieratic,  and  demotic  alpha- 
bets, placed  at  the  end  of  his  Precis , Champollion  exhibits 
a correspondence  of  each  of  the  signs  with  equivalent 
letters  of  the  Coptic  alphabet.  The  object  of  his  work 
demands  such  an  exhibition,  because  phonetic  hieroglyph- 
ics must  form  words  that  are  preserved,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  Coptic  language.  To  make  this  synoptical  table 
more  complete  and  more  useful,  he  has  copied  there  in  the 
same  order  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin  alphabetic  signs. 
This  excellent  arrangement  gives  readers  an  opportunity 
of  observing  the  striking  relations  in  form,  between  the 
writings  of  Egypt  and  those  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  We 
notice  particularly  the  letters  ft  ^ *)  tt  5 72  D and  U),  as 
presenting,  with  the  correspondent  signs  in  the  three  Egyp- 
tian alphabets,  resemblances  which  it  is  impossible  for  one 
not  to  perceive,  however  little  skilled  he  may  be  in  this 
kind  of  study.  Although  the  generally  admitted  fact,  that 
the  Jews  when  transported  into  Assyria  changed  their 
primitive  characters  for  those  of  the  Chaldee  alphabet,  may 
rob  our  observation  of  part  of  its  pertinency,  still  we  can 
add,  that  the  same  relations  exist,  though  they  may  be 
less  sensible  and  numerous,  between  the  signs  of  Egyptian 
writing,  and  the  ancient  characters  employed  by  the  He- 
brews which  the  Samaritans  have  preserved.  We  would 
not  enter  into  details  which  might  appear  minute  ; suffice 
it  to  say,  the  fact  may  be  verified  by  an  easy  collation. 

Champollion  makes  an  ingenious  remark  with  regard  to 
the  phonetic  signs  which  compose  his  alphabet.  He  finds 
that  each  hieroglyphic  expresses  always  the  sound  of  the 
initial  letter  of  the  name  given,  in  the  Egyptian  tongue, 
to  the  material  object  which  the  phonetic  sign  represents. 

Thus  an  eagle , called  by  the  Egyptians  SXjbcujut 
( Akliom ),  expresses  the  letter  a ; an  axe 


7 


74 


( Kclebin),  expresses  the  letter  K ; an  owl  UoyXc^ 
( Mouladj ),  the  letter  TJ  ; a mouth  Pui  (Ro),  the  letter 

P,  etc.*  It  is  just  the  same  as  if,  wishing  to  establish  a 
mode  of  phonetic  characters  according  to  [English]  usage, 
we  should  make  an  eagle  to  represent  the  sound  of  the  vow- 
el E,  a wheel  the  sound  of  the  consonant  W,  the  sun  that  of 
the  consonant  S,  etc.  This  curious  circumstance  is  inte- 
resting, because  it  will  serve  to  determine  the  phonetic  im- 
port of  new  signs,  which  may  be  hereafter  found  upon  the 
hieroglyphic  legends  not  yet  studied.  But  it  has  another 
kind  of  interest  relating  more  to  our  present  object.  It 
reveals  tô  us  a new  analogy  between  the  Egyptian  writings 
and  those  of  the  children  of  Israel.  We  know  that  in  the 
Hebrew,  as  in  many  other  Shemitish  languages, t each 
letter  of  the  alphabet  constitutes  the  first  of  those  which 
compose  its  written  name  ; for  example,  the  letter  &,  which 
may  be  rendered  by  our  A,  is  called  (Aleph);  the 
letter  % which  is  our  D,  is  named  nb.7  (Daleth);  the 
letter  b,  equivalent  to  our  L,  is  called  "lüb  (Lamedh),  etc. 
Does  this  manner  of  rendering  the  sounds  of  the  spoken 
language  by  the  initials  of  the  names  of  objects  in  one  part, 
and  by  those  of  alphabetic  characters  in  another,  present  a 
purely  fortuitous  relation  ? It  does  more,  in  the  opinion 
of  certain  learned  men,  who  have  thought  they  could 
discover,  in  the  primitive  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet 
or  Samaritan,  true  figures,  though  indistinct,  of  the  objects 
to  which  their  names  relate  ; as  for  example,  the  letter  3 
(Ghimel)  expresses  the  name  of  camel  in  Hebrew  b)Q3,  etc. 

* See  the  Précis  du  Syst.  hieroglyph,  pp.  359 — 361. 

t This  designation,  Shemitish,  doubtless  inexact  because  it  is  ap- 
plied to  some  languages  which  do  not  belong  to  the  posterity  of  Shem, 
is  a term  substituted  by  science  for  the  old  denomination  of  oriental 
languages,  a denomination  more  inexact  still  in  a geographical  rela-t 
tion,  and  besides  too  general. 


75 


These  letters  then,  though  always  phonetic,  yet  being  true 
figurative  signs  of  objects,  they  exhibit  very  striking  rela- 
tions with  those  of  the  Egyptian  writings.  [See  Appen- 
dix O.] 

We  will  call  to  mind  here  what  we  have  already  said, 
upon  the  employment  of  vowels  in  the  phonetic  part  of 
Egyptian  texts.  They  are  frequently  not  expressed,  and 
frequently  a vowel  is  susceptible  of  representing  different 
sounds;  lastly,  one  vowel  is  sometimes  substituted  for 
another  in  various  transcriptions  of  the  same  word.  Cham- 
pollion  has  had  frequent  occasion  to  repeat  these  remarks 
in  reading  the  hieroglyphic  legends  ; and  they  give  rise,  in 
our  view,  to  a new  relation  with  the  Arabic,  Syriac,  and 
Chaldee  languages,  and  with  the  language  in  which  the 
precious  books  of  divine  revelation  are  written.  Every 
individual  knows  that  the  Hebrew,  strictly  speaking,  has 
no  written  vowels  : and  that  the  points  employed  to  fix  its 
pronunciation,  are  a modern  invention,  and  that  they  are 
not  found  in  the  Samaritan.  Rules  are  established  to  ex- 
plain the  changes  of  these  Masoretic  points  ; and  perhaps 
the  Egyptian  scribes  likewise  possessed  established  rules 
for  the  suppression  or  substitution  of  vowels  in  the  phonetic 
parts  of  legends  ; but  they  are  unknown  to  us,  and  will 
always  remain  unknown,  so  far  as  we  can  conjecture. 

The  various  philological  phenomena  which  we  have 
considered,  are  of  some  interest  in  a new  science,  called 
ethnography , which  has  for  its  aim  to  study  the  filiation 
and  relations  of  nations,  and  to  class  them  after  their  idioms. 
Divers  analogies  of  an  ancient  kind,  will  still  indicate,  in 
two  languages,  the  traces  of  a primitive  language  from 
which  they  are  both  derived,  and  will  relate  back  to  that 
great  event  which  dispersed  the  descendants  of  Noah,  at 
the  tower  of  Babel. 

2.  The  reading  of  the  various  Egyptian  writings,  affords 


76 


occasion  to  remark  other  close  relations  in  parts  of  the 
style  of  legends,  to  those  of  the  sacred  writings.  We  cannot 
dispense  with  noticing  some  of  them  here.  Though  they 
may  be  of  little  importance  when  separately  considered, 
yet  taken  together  they  are  of  some  interest  in  relation  to 
other  more  definite  data.  Besides,  as  it  has  often  been 
remarked,  nothing  should  be  neglected  which  pertains  to 
knowledge  ; and  it  is  true,  especially  of  a subject  so  essen- 
tial and  elevated  as  that  which  claims  our  attention  in  this 
work. 

M.  Jomard,  member  of  the  Institute,  and  Dr.  Young, 
published  at  the  same  time  four  numerical  signs  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  Champollion  has  since  added  a fifth, 
and  the  import  of  these  ciphers  has  been  proved  by  experi- 
ment*. Aided  by  this  discovery,  the  number  of  vanquished 
enemies  can  be  determined  upon  the  monuments,  or  the 
objects  consecrated  as  offerings,  the  age  of  the  dead,  and, 
what  is  of  still  higher  importance,  the  date  of  an  event,  the 
days,  months,  or  years  of  the  reign  of  a Pharaoh.  For  the 
dates  which  have  been  found  in  great  numbers  in  hiero- 
glyphic inscriptions,  upon  hieratic  or  demotic  stelce , on 
papyrus,  etc.,  are  always  mentioned  according  to  the  same 
formula,  and  differ  in  no  respects  from  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  expressed  in  the  sacred  books  ; e.  g.  in 
the  fifth  year , the  fifth  day  of  the  month  of  ...  . accord - 
in  g to  the  direction  of  the  king  of  an  obedient  people; 
(the  cartouches  containing  the  name  and  surname  of  the 
prince.)  Is  not  this  similitude  of  expression  striking? 

There  are  examples  more  striking  still  of  this  similarity, 
in  certain  titles  of  honor  given  to  princes  and  to  gods, 
which  Champollion  has  collected  in  his  General  Table. 

*The  system  of  numeration  among  the  Egyptians  was  one  of  great 
simplicity,  and  resembles  very  nearly  that  of  the  Romans.  Quantities 
are  expressed  by  signs  equivalent  to  numbers,  1, 10,  100, 1000,  10,000 , 
which  are  repeated  as  many  times  as  is  necessary.  [See  App.  P.] 


Many  original  copies  of  formulas  trace  religious  ideas, 
which  are  in  vain  sought  for  either  upon  the  Greek  or 
Roman  monuments  of  antiquity  ; but  which  are  found  de- 
scribed in  the  noble  and  simple  style  of  the  sacred  writ- 
ings. Such  are  those  of  loved  of  Ammon * (Jupiter),  ex- 
actly resembling  Samuel  loved  by  the  Lord  his  God 
(Eccl.  xlvi.  13)  ; approved  by  Pthah  (Vulcan)  ; ap- 
proved by  Re,  (the  Sun)  ; expressions  analogous  to  these, 
viz.  acceptable  to  God,  approved  of  God,  which  are  often 
repeated  in  Scripture.  The  Gods  Lords,  is  an  identical 
title,  as  it  regards  the  repetition,  with  Lord  God  in  the 
Bible  ; great  and  great,  a designation  given  to  Thoth,  the 
Egyptian  Mercury,  and  corresponding  in  some  good  degree 
with  the  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  which,  in  our  sublime  books 
of  the  prophets,  the  choirs  of  heaven  are  represented  as 
chanting  at  the  foot  of  the  eternal  throne,  etc.  etc.  We 
shall  not  extend  any  farther  these  collations,  of  which  we 
can  give  only  an  incomplete  sketch  ; but  we  shall  now 
notice  a fact  observed  by  Champollion,  which  proves  a re- 
markable conformity  between  the  two  nations  in  a usage 
that  concerns  religion  more  than  either  writing  or  phi- 
lology. 

The  pronunciation  of  the  celebrated  TSTçaygdpfiajor 
is  not  known,  nor  its  entire  signification.  It  is  a word  of 
four  letters,  expressing  the  ineffable  name  of  the  Lord 
who  was  revealed  to  Moses,  ï-p,-p  (Jehovah),  which  ap- 
pears to  be  derived  from  the  root  tV'ï'i,  and  to  contain  all 
the  tenses  of  the  verb  to  be,  so  as  to  render  the  idea  of  an 
eternal  and  necessary  being  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is 
rendered  in  Exodus  (iii.  14),  I am  that  I am.  Two 

* It  has  often  been  remarked  that  Pagan  antiquity  makes  little  re- 
ference to  the  love  due  to  divinities.  Among  the  Egyptians  the  ex- 
pressions, dear  to  the  gods,  loving  the  gods,  are  frequently  repeated, 
and  they  seem  to  indicate  more  just  ideas  of  their  divinities  and  of  the 
obligations  which  they  imposed  upon  mankind. 


78 


apostles  in  the  New  Testament  have  imitated  this  ; St, 
Paul  in  the  Hebrews  (xiii.  8),  the  same  yesterday , to-day , 
and  forever ; and  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse  (iv.  8),  who 
iras,  and  is,  and  is  to  come.  But  we  know  that  the  He- 
brews cherished  the  most  profound  awe  for  this  incommu- 
nicable and  mysterious  name  ; a sentiment  which  appears 
to  have  led  them,  at  least  after  the  captivity  of  Babylon, 
to  avoid  pronouncing  it  when  they  met  with  it  in  the  sa- 
cred text,  and  to  substitute  for  it  the  word  13 Si*  (Adonai), 
which  signifies  the  Lord.  This  conclusion  might  be  de- 
duced from  the  following  fact  alone,  viz.  that  the  Seventy 
have  not  translated  this  sacred  name,  nor  sought  to  render 
the  idea  which  it  conveys  ; but  they  have  always  expressed 
it  by  Kvqloç  (as  in  the  Vulgate  it  is  also  expressed  by 
Dominus),  because  they  had  read  for  ï"n!"P.  This 
is  still  a custom  of  modern  Jews,  who  attribute  to  the  true 
pronunciation  of  the  name  of  the  Almighty,  the  power  of 
miracles,  and  pretend  in  this  way  to  explain  many  won- 
derful things,  and  even  the  miracles  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Without  delaying  to  consider  a multitude  of  superstitious 
ideas  which  are  connected  with  this  religious  respect  for 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  we  cannot  but  be  struck  with  its 
analogy  to  the  veneration  of  the  Egyptians  for  the  proper 
names  of  their  divinities.  These  names,  which  can  be 
written,  and  which  in  fact  are  written,  by  three  kinds  of 
characters,  the  figurative , symbolic,  or  phonetic,  are  not 
expressed  indifferently  in  one  or  another  of  these  modes. 
They  axe  phonetic  in  those  hieroglyphic  and  hieratic  in- 
scriptions, which  were  written  by  members  of  the  sacer- 
dotal order,  and  they  elsewhere  form  in  themselves  sacred 
writings  specially  devoted  to  religious  subjects.  But  in 
demotic  texts,  which  being  destined  for  common  use,  were 
of  a profane  nature,  the  names  of  the  gods  are  always 
expressed  by  means  of  symbols,  and  never  phonetically . 


79 


From  a comparison  of  various  Egyptian  manuscripts, 
Champollion  has  found  that,  probably  for  similar  reasons, 
some  hieroglyphic  divine  names  were  written  in  one  way, 
and  pronounced  in  another.* 

3.  The  study  of  the  names  of  men,  which  are  generally 
significant,  is  connected  with  the  study  of  a people  and 
their  manners,  and  on  some  accounts  philology  should  not 
neglect  it.f  In  many  editions  of  the  Vulgate,  there  is  a 
table  of  Hebrew  proper  names,  accompanied  with  their 
interpretation  ; and  this  kind  of  dictionary,  abridged  as  it 
is,  will  be  useful  to  persons  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of 
reading  the  Scriptures  in  the  original.  A similar  work, 
but  more  full  in  its  developments  upon  the  foreign  names 
which  occur  in  the  Bible,  would  prove  highly  important 
to  all  classes  of  readers  ; and  the  study  of  the  monuments 
of  Egypt  and  of  its  writings,  would  facilitate  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  few  Egyptian  names  preserved  in  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament.  Champollion,  without  making  it  his 
particular  aim,  has  obtained  for  us  some  curious  data  on 
this  subject. 

For  example,  upon  a beautiful  funereal  manuscript, 
procured  from  the  celebrated  traveller  Cailliaud  for  the 
cabinet  of  the  king,  he  has  discovered  the  name  of  Pha- 
raoh’s officer  to  whom  Joseph  was  sold  in  Egypt  (Gen. 
xxxix.  1)  ; a name  which  was  also  borne  by  the  priest  of 
Heliopolis,  who  became  the  father  in  law  of  this  patriarch 
(Gen.  xli.  45). \ This  name,  written  in  the  Hebrew  text 
and  in  the  Vulgate  Putiphar  and  Putiphare , 
is  called  IJsTscpgri  in  the  Septuagint  ; and  the  orthography 

* Précis  du  Syst.  hiérogl.  pp  350 — 351. 

t M.  Eusèbe  Salverte  has  written  a work  on  this  subject,  entitled; 
Essai  historique  et  philosophique  sur  les  noms  d’hommes , de  peu- 
ples, et  de  lieux,  etc.  Paris,  1824,  2 vols,  in  8vo.  It  presents  many 
interesting  details. 

t Précis  du  Syst.  hiérogl.  pp.  176,  177. 


80 


of  the  Egyptian  papyrus,  if  we  may  use  the  expression,  is 
strictly  that  of  the  Alexandrine  translators.  The  hiero- 
glyphic signs  which  compose  it,  when  rendered  by  equiv- 
alent characters,  give  the  reading  which 

is  the  same  with  that  in  the  Coptic  version  of  Genesis  ; 
and  we  know  that  this  name  when  analyzed  signifies,  he 
who  is,  or  who  belongs  to  Re  or  Phre  (the  Sun).  It  would, 
however,  be  absurd  to  pretend  that  the  deceased,  to  whom 
this  manuscript  belonged,  was  either  the  father  in  law  of 
Joseph,  or  the  Egyptian  dignitary  to  whom  he  was  sold. 
We  have  no  proofs  to  confirm  such  a supposition  ; and 
this  name,  which  is  composed  from  that  of  one  of  the 
Egyptian  divinities,  must  have  been  common  to  a great 
number  of  Egyptians.  It  is  no  less  remarkable,  that  this 
name  is  completely  identical  with  that  in  the  Bible  ; and 
the  unexpected  discovery  of  it  upon  such  a monument, 
must  attract  interest,  and  show  the  historic  exactness  of 
the  Scriptures  even  in  the  smallest  details.  The  following 
example  is  of  the  same  character,  and  we  trace  it  to  the 
same  source. 

In  Genesis  (xli.  45),  Asenath,  an  Egyptian  woman 
whom  Pharaoh  gave  for  a wife  to  Joseph,  and  who  was 
the  daughter  of  one  of  the  Potiphars  we  have  alluded  to, 
is  called  nsDN,  'AoevsQ.  This  name,  very  certainly  an 
Egyptian  one,  has  not  been  observed  in  the  legends  of 
the  monuments  ; still  we  cannot  but  notice  its  striking 
conformity  to  another  name  of  a woman  found  by  Cham- 
pollion.*  Upon  a figure  of  enamelled  earth  belonging 
to  the  cabinet  of  the  king,  he  has  read  5\,CHCï  {Asêsi 
or  Asfsz)  ; and,  as  he  remarks,  this  name  is  made  up  of  that 
of  the  goddess  Isis,  preceded  by  the  monosyllable 
whose  signification  he  does  not  know,  but  which  appears 


Précis  du  Syst.  hiérogl.  p.  178. 


81 


to  us  to  express  some  relation  of  the  person  named  with 
the  goddess  Isis * The  name  of  Joseph’s  wife,  so  similar 
to  this  in  its  material  form,  appears  to  be  composed  in  the 

same  way  ; it  also  exhibits  the  monosyllable  3\^C,  follow- 
ed by  the  name  of  the  goddess  Neith,  who,  in  the  Egyp- 
tian mythology,  corresponds  to  the  'Adr\vrj  of  the  Greeks, 
or  to  the  Minerva  of  the  Latins. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  understand  two  other  striking 
names  in  Sacred  History  ; that  of  Joseph  who  became  the 
minister  of  Pharaoh,  and  that  of  Moses.  The  Vulgate,  in 
speaking  of  the  son  of  Jacob,  tells  us  that  Pharaoh  chan- 
ged his  name,  and  gave  him  another  which  signified  in 
Egyptian,  Saviour  of  the  world  ; “ Vocavitque  eum  lingua 
Ægyptiacâ  Salvatorem  mundi”  (Gen.  xli.  45).  The  He- 
brew text  expresses  this  name  by  these  words  ftps© 
and  the  Septuagint  by  Wovdoycpavrix.  All  the  labors  of 
learned  men  upon  this  name,  have  been  of  little  avail. f 
That  of  the  legislator  of  the  Hebrews  ïl'ÿft,  Movuffç , 
Moy  ses,  Moses , appears  to  signify  drawn  from  the  waters , 
according  as  Pharaoh’s  daughter  saith  in  Scripture  ; Be- 
cause I drew  him  out  of  the  water  (Exod.  ii.  10).  This 
name  is  certainly  Egyptian,  since  it  was  given  by  a prin- 
cess of  this  country  ; and  besides,  whatever  its  etymology 
may  be  in  the  Hebrew  language,  it  never  has  the  sense 
indicated  by  Exodus.  We  might  add,  that  it  exhibits  a 
remarkable  analogy  with  many  names  of  the  Pharaohs,  as 
Amo  sis,  Thouthmosis,  etc.  However  this  may  be,  the  name 

* The  Egyptian  names  of  the  two  sexes,  which  Champollion  has 
read  in  great  numbers  upon  the  monuments,  are  frequently  composed 
of  the  name  of  some  divinity  and  of  a monosyllable  which  establishes 
some  relation  of  dependence,  or  of  worship,  as  Pethor,  he  who  be- 
longs to  Horus  ; Taêse  or  Taïsi,  that  which  belongs  to  Isis  ; Amon- 
maï,  dear  to  Ammon  ; Amonset , daughter  of  Amon;  Hathdrma , 
the  gift  of  Hathor  (the  Egyptian  Venus),  etc. 

t See  Jablonskii  Opusc.  tom.  i.  p.  207,  on  the  word  PorAoiupavijx- 


82 


of  Moses,  like  that  of  Joseph,  has  exercised  the  acuteness 
of  the  learned  to  no  purpose.  Jablonski,  whom  we  have 
cited  and  shall  often  have  occasion  to  cite,  derives  the 
name  of  Moses  from  the  Egyptian  words  J(XCll 
the  first  of  which  signifies  water , and  the  second  has  the 
meaning,  to  save  (Opusc.  tom.  n.  p.  52).  Josephus 
also  says  that  yov}  in  the  Egyptian  language,  signifies 
water  (Cont.  App.  i.  31).  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
new  discoveries  afford  us  no  positive  information  about 
these  two  important  names  ; but  we  may  hope  that  fresh 
researches,  and  analogies  observed  with  caution,  will  one 
day  enable  men  more  capable  than  ourselves  to  illustrate 
these  and  other  details,  in  a satisfactory  and  lucid  man- 
ner. Limiting  our  literary  ambition  to  a simple  Essay , 
we  terminate  here  what  we  have  to  say  upon  this  (in  our 
opinion  the  most  obscure)  part  of  Egyptian  antiquities 
that  relate  to  the  Bible. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HISTORICAL  AND  CHRONOLOGICAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 

Name  of  Pharaoh  given  to  the  kings  of  Egypt.  Utility  of  the  labors  of 
Champollion  Figeac.  Pharaohs  cotemporary  with  Abraham, — with 
Joseph.  Pharaoh  the  oppressor  of  the  Hebrews.  Pharaoh  the  enemy 
of  Moses. 

The  various  relations  which  for  a long  period  placed 
the  Hebrews  in  contact  with  Egypt,  have  occasioned  many 
names  of  its  kings  to  be  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament, 
and  the  history  of  these  monarchs  is  closely  connected 


83 


with  that  of  the  people  of  God.  This  subject  will  now 
occupy  us  ; and  we  shall  attempt  to  illustrate  the  sacred 
annals,  by  means  of  historical  and  chronological  data 
which  we  owe  chiefly  to  the  discoveries  of  the  Cham- 
pollions. 

1.  Some  of  the  kings  in  Scripture,  are  designated  by 
names  very  analogous  to  those  given  them  by  the  Greek 
historians  of  Egypt,  though  still  in  certain  respects  very  dif- 
ferent. But  others  have  no  proper  name  to  distinguish  them . 
The  title  of  Pharaoh  simply  is  given  in  the  Scriptures, 
ï-fÿlS,  <&(*() co.  This  generic  denomination  is  not  found 
among  ancient  authors,  and  it  is  peculiar  to  the  sacred 
books.  But  all  writers  now  admit  that  it  was  employed 
to  designate  the  sovereigns  of  Egypt  anterior  to  the  La- 
gidæ,  who  were  called  the  Ptolemies.  It  would  be  inte- 
resting, doubtless,  to  know  the  just  origin  and  signification 
of  this  name  adopted  by  the  sacred  writers  ; but  all  ex- 
amination here  has  proved  fruitless. 

Evidently  we  cannot  find  any  source  of  this  word  in 
profane  antiquity,  because  the  biblical  name  Pharaoh 
appears  not  to  have  been  known  to  the  Greek  and  Roman 
writers,  if  we  judge  from  those  of  their  works  which  have 
come  down  to  us.  The  ancient  ecclesiastical  authors, 
among  whom  this  Scripture  word  frequently  occurs,  fur- 
nish hardly  any  useful  data  with  regard  to  it.  The 
most  positive  testimony  concerning  it,  is  in  the  works  of 
Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  and  of  Julius  Africanus. 
Josephus  assures  us  (viii.  Antiq.  vi.  2)*  that  during  an 

* Josephus  seems  to  believe,  that  the  denomination  Pharaoh  ceased 
to  be  used  in  Egypt  after  the  father  in  law  of  Solomon.  The  ground 
of  this  belief,  doubtless,  was  the  fact  that  the  Scripture  gives  proper ; 
names  to  the  kings  of  that  country  which  it  describes  after  this  epoch. 
But  it  is  a great  mistake,  to  conclude  from  this  fact  that  they  did  not 
also  bear  the  name  of  Pharaoh.  The  historical  books  give  it  to 
Necho  and  to  Hophra,  and  the  prophets  make  use  of  it  in  many 
places. 


84 


interval  of  more  than  thirteen  centuries,  this  name  was 
borne  by  all  the  sovereigns  of  Egypt,  who  took  it  when 
they  mounted  the  throne,  even  though  they  were  in  their 
minority  ; he  adds  that  this  name  is  Egyptian,  and  that  it 
signifies  Icing;  o'  &aQa dtp  3tar>  Aiyvmiovç  ficunXea  cry  pa  iv  si. 
Africanus,  cited  by  Eusebius  in  his  Greek  Chronicon 
(ed.  Scaliger,  1658,  p.  20),  expresses  a similar  opinion 
about  the  word  (Paya® • Ovtco  ydq  Aipémioi  toôç  fiaadëiç 
eqfirjvevovdi.  He  gives,  like  Josephus,  no  farther  account. 
Many  Latin  Fathers  also  have  investigated  this  word, 
among  whom  is  Isidorus  of  Seville  (Origin,  vii.  6).  They 
repeat  the  same  observations  which  we  have  noted,  and 
add  nothing  new. 

In  the  absence  of  all  positive  documents,  modern  writers 
could  only  conjecture  more  or  less  ingeniously.  Some 
have  pretended  that  the  name  of  the  Pharaohs  related  to 
a place  well  known  in  Egypt,  <Pdçoç , i.  e.  the  island  of 
Pharos.  Bochart  believes  that  Pharaoh  signifies  a croco- 
dile, and  he  explains  it  by  the  celebrated  passage  in 
Ezekiel  (xxix.  3)  ; Behold , I am  against  thee,  Pharaoh 
Icing  of  Egypt,  the  great  dragon  that  lieth  in  the  midst 
of  his  rivers,  which  hath  said,  etc.  Others  have  believed 
it  to  be  derived  from  the  Hebrew  verb  which,  used 

also  in  the  Chaldee,  has  there  the  meaning  to  avenge. 
According  to  this  analogy,  which  appears  to  us  altogether 
fortuitous,  the  name  will  signify  the  avenger,  a title 

which  to  a certain  extent  applies  to  a king.  But  it  would 
be  more  natural,  in  our  estimation,  to  trace  back  the  origin 
of  an  Egyptian  term  in  the  Coptic  idiom,  the  only  idiom 
which  preserves  a part  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  language. 
Unfortunately  but  little  progress  has  been  made  here. 
Masoudy,  an  Arabian  historian  quoted  by  Qnatremere,* 
relates  that  he  consulted  many  well  instructed  Copts,  in 


Recherches  sur  la  langue  et  la  littérature  de  l Égypte , p.  35. 


85 


Said  and  in  other  parts  of  Egypt,  about  the  signification 
of  the  word  Pharaoh  ; but  they  could  not  explain  its  sense, 
and  he  sought  for  it  in  vain  in  their  language.  Masoudy 
flourished  about  the  fourth  century  of  the  Mahommedan 
epoch,  which  corresponds  to  the  tenth  of  our  own  ; and 
from  this  period,  sources  of  information  on  this  subject 
have  diminished  and  difficulties  have  increased.  Jablon- 
ski  however  was  not  retarded  in  his  examination  by  the 
authority  of  the  Arabian  writer.  He  pretends  to  find  the 
origin  of  the  title  given  by  Scripture  to  the  monarchs  of 


the  Theban  dialect,  TippO  and  $ppO,  or  $EppO.* 


The  Abbe  Renaudot  adopted,  after  him,  the  same  opinion. f 


Champollion  has  found  that  the  word  OYpO,  and  with 
the  article  , is  the  Egyptian  name  of  the  ser- 


pent Uroeus,  which  is  pointed  out  on  all  the  monuments 
as  a characteristic  sign  of  Egyptian  sovereigns.  This  is 
a singular  congruity  ; and  it  seems  to  explain  the  true 
signification  of  the  title  Pharaoh , and  the  reason  why  this 
symbol  is  placed  upon  the  royal  head-dresses. 

2.  Whatever  is  the  solution  of  this  philological  problem 
(which  may  receive  fuller  explanation  when  Egyptian 
studies  are  more  advanced),  it  is  nevertheless  certain,  that 
the  union  of  Egyptian  kings  under  a common  name  has 
occasioned  much  obscurity  in  that  portion  of  Scripture 
relating  to  Egyptian  history  ; and  thus  it  has  become  very 
difficult  to  recognize  among  the  various  Pharaohs  men- 

* Jablonskii  Opusc .,  word  <t>aoaJj,  tom.  i.  pp.  374 — 376. 

t Dissertatio  de  linguâ  Copticâ,  tom.  i.;  Liturgiarum  orientiali - 
um,  p.  127. 


8 


86 


tioned  in  the  Bible,  those  princes  whose  names  have  been 
preserved  by  Greek  or  Roman  historians.  It  is  chiefly  in 
clearing  up  these  weighty  difficulties,  that  the  discoveries 
and  chronological  labors  of  the  Champollions  will  be  of 
great  assistance. 

It  is  known  that  Champollion  Figeac,  who  is  collecting 
in  a work  the  materials  daily  furnished  from  the  rich  mine 
explored  by  his  brother,  has  succeeded  in  restoring  nearly 
all  the  vast  edifice  of  Egyptian  dynasties.  This  he  has 
effected  by  means  of  royal  names  inscribed  upon  the 
monuments  ; and  his  result  corresponding  with  the  lists 
of  Manetho,  has  reëstablished  their  authority,  which  had 
before  been  very  questionable  among  the  moderns.  His 
labors  and  the  hieroglyphic  legends  upon  which  they  have 
been  employed,  lead  us  to  notice  that  part  of  the  history 
and  chronology  of  the  Pharaohs  which  relates  to  the 
Scriptures,  and  afford  us,  at  the  same  time,  new  truths  on 
the  subject.  But  it  was  not  sufficient  to  have  found  upon 
the  monuments  the  lists  of  Manetho  as  they  were  pre- 
served by  his  abbreviators,  and  to  learn  the  official  names 
(so  to  speak)  of  the  Pharaohs;  it  was  necessary  also  to 
determine  the  epochs  of  their  reigns,  of  which  historians 
kav€  only  related  the  duration.  Without  this  new  result, 
the  former  results  would  have  been  insufficient,  and  ex- 
isting simply  as  objects  of  curiosity,  they  would  have  had 
no  real  application  to  history.  Champollion  Figeac  has 
executed  this  important  service.  By  the  portions  he  has 
selected  from  two  writers  of  antiquity,  he  has  placed  in 
our  hands  a thread  which  will  guide  us  in  the  labyrinths 
of  Egyptian  chronology;  he  has  determined  with  cer- 
tainty the  date  of  the  reign  of  Menophres,  the  third  king 
of  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  To  make  this  more  satisfactory, 
we  must  enter  into  a few  details  ; and  without  attempting 
to  follow  all  his  calculations  (for  which  we  refer  the  reader 


87 


to  his  own  work),*  we  will  give  an  abstract  of  the  reason- 
ings which  conducted  to  the  result  we  have  announced. 

The  Egyptians  invented  a period  called  Sothiac , which 
has  also  been  named  the  Cynic  cycle.  It  was  composed 
of  1461  years,  consisting  of  365  days  each,  a number 
equivalent  to  1460  years  fixed  at  365J  ; days  each,  and 
its  beginning  was  determined  by  the  time  when  the  star 
Sirius  first  rose,  on  the  first  day  of  the  month  of  Thoth. 
A passage  from  Theon  of  Alexandria  (in  the  Greek  manu- 
script No.  2390,  Royal  Library),  apprizes  us  that  this 
period  began  anew  under  the  reign  of  the  Pharaoh  Meno- 
phres.  Censorinus  ( De  die  natali , xxi.)  formally  announ- 
ces that  the  Cynic  cycle  ended  the  year  138  of  the  vulgar 
era.  Consequently  then,  by  subtracting  the  138  years 
passed  since  the  commencement  of  our  era  from  the  1460 
which  form  the  entire  period,  we  shall  have  in  the  result 
1322  years  before  the  Christian  era,  the  date  of  the  reign 
of  Menoplires , Ammeplithes , or  Amenophis , whose  monu- 
mental name  is  Amenoftep , and  who  was  the  third 
sovereign  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty. 

But  this  date  was  still  indeterminate,  because,  accord- 
ing to  ancient  chronologists,  Pharaoh  occupied  the  throne 
forty  years  ; it  became  necessary  to  fix  it  with  more  pre- 
cision, and  to  find  with  which  of  these  forty  years  the 
renewal  of  the  cycle,  1322  years  before  the  Christian  era, 
corresponded.  With  equal  sagaciousness,  Champollion 
has  solved  this  new  problem  by  means  of  another  date 
which  is  indicated  by  Manetho,  and  is  preserved  by  Syn- 
cellus.  The  historian  of  Egypt  teaches  us,  that  an  inva- 
sion of  the  Shepherds  took  place  the  sixth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Concharis,  who  is  also  called  Timaiis  ; and  that 
this  year  was  the  seven  hundredth  of  the  Cynic  cycle, 

* See  his  Notice  Chronologique,  following  the  first  letter  of  his 
brother  upon  the  Royal  Turin  Museum,  pp.  99 — 105, 


88 


the  same,  doubtless,  which  ended  under  Menophres.  By 
adding  to  these  700  years  of  the  cycle  which  have  passed 
since  the  death  of  Concharis,  the  270  years  of  the  usurpa- 
tion of  the  Shepherds,  the  348  years  which  made  the  total 
duration  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  and  the  reigns  of  the 
two  first  kings  of  the  nineteenth,  of  which  Menophres  was 
the  third,  and  which  together  form  121  years,  we  have 
the  sum  total  of  1429  years.  Thirty-one  years  are  want- 
ing to  complete  the  1460  years  of  the  period  ; and  these 
must  be  taken  from  the  reign  of  Menophres.  The  renewal 
of  the  Cynic  cycle,  or  the  1322d  year  before  the  Christian 
era  corresponds  then  with  the  thirty-second  of  the  reign 
of  Menophres. 

This  conclusion  is  rigorously  drawn,  and  it  must  satisfy 
the  most  severe  critic.  We  see  plainly  what  advantage 
it  promises  in  historical  study,  because  it  affords  a certain 
date  which  hereafter  will  serve  as  a point  of  departure  for 
all  chronological  investigations  ; and  not  only  will  it  help 
to  fix  the  epochs  of  the  Pharaohs,  but  to  determine  also 
many  synchronisms  in  other  histories,  either  in  tracing 
back  to  the  first  dynasties,  or  in  descending  towards  those 
of  the  Persians  and  Greeks.  For  the  illustration  of  sacred 
history  and  its  connection  with  the  history  of  Egypt,  we 
must  possess  ourselves  of  this  important  result  ; and  it  is 
to  the  date  of  the  reign  of  Menophres  that  all  our  chro- 
nology will  relate,  while  we  trace  out  the  sovereigns  men- 
tioned in  the  Bible.  Let  us  commence  an  examination 
of  the  twelve  at  least  to  whom  the  Bible  refers,  and  whom 
it  designates  by  the  general  name  of  Pharaoh . 

It  is  not  our  part  to  form  a new  chronological  system. 
Being  obliged  to  select  from  among  those  which  exist,  we 
have  preferred  that  of  Usher,  as  the  one  most  generally 
adopted  by  the  interpreters  of  Scripture.  We  would  not 
conceal  the  fact  that  it  is  attended  with  difficulties  in 


89 


some  of  its  details  ; and  we  shall  carefully  point  out  those 
respectable  authorities,  by  whom  essential  limitations  are 
made  in  its  application  to  the  times  anterior  to  the  deliver- 
ance of  Israel,  or  to  their  departure  from  Egypt.  The 
epoch  of  these  last  events  is  one,  in  which  the  history  of 
the  people  of  God  is  not  involved  in  the  same  chronological 
difficulties. 

3.  The  first  Pharaoh  of  the  Scriptures  is  mentioned  in 
Genesis  (xii.  10 — 20),  and  Egypt  also  is  here  named  for 
the  first  time.  At  this  period,  Abraham,  to  avoid  the 
famine  which  desolated  the  land  of  Canaan,  descended 
into  Egypt  (this  is  the  common  expression  in  the  Bible) 
with  Sarah  his  wife,  whom  he  wished  to  pass  for  his  sister. 
Her  great  beauty  being  rumored  abroad,  Pharaoh  took 
her  to  his  house  ; but  being  punished  by  the  Lord,  and 
learning  that  she  was  the  wife  of  the  patriarch,  he  resto- 
red her  to  her  husband,  and  compelled  them  both  to  leave 
the  land  of  Egypt. 

The  attempt  to  discover  this  Pharaoh  in  the  profane 
history  of  Egypt,  presents  difficulties  of  a peculiar  kind. 
Usher  and  the  best  chronologists  place  the  preceding 
events  near  the  year  1918  before  our  era.  At  this  epoch 
occurred  the  devastating  reign  of  the  Hikshos*  or  Shep- 
herds, who,  after  having  massacred  the  king  Timaüs  or 
Concharis,  usurped  the  throne,  and  maintained  them- 
selves upon  it  during  two  hundred  and  sixty  years.  But 
while  these  barbarians  covered  the  land  with  blood  and 

* This  Egyptian  word  has  been  rendered  sometimes  by  king 
shepherds , sometimes  by  armed  shepherds  ; but  it  seems  to  signify, 
according  to  Manetho,  captive  shepherds.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
give  a reason  for  this  epithet.  Many  modern  writers  have  believed 
that  they  saw  them  represented  in  the  figures  of  the  vanquished  or 
captives,  that  are  frequently  found  painted  on  the  bottom  of  mummy 
coffins.  This  custom  was  intended  to  express,  in  a very  forcible  man- 
ner, the  hatred  and  disgust  with  which  the  remembrance  of  their 
ravages  inspired  the  people  of  Egypt. 

8* 


90 


ruin,  the  descendants  of  the  legitimate  sovereigns  still 
reigned  over  a part  of  Egypt,  and  courageously  defended 
themselves  against  the  usurpers,  until  the  time  of  Mis- 
phragmouthosis , who  shut  them  up  in  their  capital  Aouaris , 
and  left  to  his  son  Thouthmosis  the  easy  task  of  expelling 
them  from  Egypt  and  of  driving  them  to  Syria.  The 
dynasty  cotemporary  with  that  of  the  Shepherds  (the  sev- 
enteenth), is  not  noticed  by  the  abbre viators  of  Manetho  ; 
but  it  has  been  restored  by  the  table  of  Abydos,  which 
gives  the  surnames  of  its  six  kings  : the  last  name  of 
-the  last  king,  Misphragmouthosis , is  the  only  one  now 
known. 

To  which  of  these  two  parallel  dynasties  did  the  Egyp- 
tian king,  described  in  Genesis  as  cotemporary  with 
Abraham,  belong  ? It  is  not  probable  that  he  was  one  of 
the  Shepherd  kings  ; the  sacred  writers  give  him  the  title 
of  Pharaoh , which  belongs  only  to  legitimate  sovereigns  ; 
and  the  sentiments  of  justice  and  fear  of  God  exhibited  in 
his  conduct,  when  he  discovered  the  condition  of  Sarah, 
are  inconsistent  with  our  ideas  of  the  conduct  of  those 
ferocious  and  impious  tyrants.  It  would  be  more  natural 
to  suppose  that  Pharaoh  was  a prince  of  the  seventeenth 
dynasty.  But  we  are  unable  to  determine  not  only  his 
last  name  (because  the  table  of  Abydos,  as  we  have  re- 
marked, exhibits  only  surnames),  but  even  the  order  of  his 
reign,  because  we  do  not  know  the  respective  duration  of 
the  reigns  of  the  princes  of  this  dynasty,  though  their  total 
duration,  like  that  of  the  Shepherds,  was  evidently  two 
hundred  and  sixty  years. 

There  is  another  hypothesis  about  the  epoch  of  these 
events.  It  is  founded  on  the  authority  of  Eusebius,  who 
affirms  positively  in  his  Chronicon , that  Abraham  was 
cotemporary  with  the  sixteenth  dynasty.*  If  this  synchro- 

* Euseb.,  ed.  Scalig.,  Chron.  Grœc.,  p.  89; — ed.  Venet.  armen., 
tom.  ii.  p.  63  ; — ed.  Milan,  p.  240. 


91 


nism  is  admitted,  (to  which  hitherto  but  little  attention 
has  been  paid),  the  absence  of  Pharaonic  monuments 
belonging  to  this  epoch,  will  forbid  all  investigation  about 
the  name  of  the  Pharaoh,  who  took  Sarah  to  his  harem. 
We  ought  not  to  venture  an  opinion  on  this  important 
question. 

4.  About  two  centuries  later,  another  Pharaoh  appears 
in  Genesis.  Joseph,  the  continued  object  of  jealousy  to 
his  brothers,  was  sold  by  them  to  the  merchants  of  Midian, 
who  carried  him  to  Egypt,  where  he  became  the  slave  of 
Potiphar,  chief  of  Pharaoh’s  eunuchs  and  commander 
of  his  forces  {Gen.  xxxvii.  28,  36).  The  son  of  Jacob 
interprets  the  dreams  of  this  prince,  and  announces  to 
him  seven  years  of  fertility  which  were  to  enrich  Egypt, 
and  seven  years  of  famine  which  were  to  succeed  them. 
Charmed  with  the  wisdom  that  shone  in  his  conduct,  the 
monarch  confided  to  him  the  administration  of  his  king- 
dom. The  foresight  of  the  young  Hebrew  multiplied 
resources  abundantly,  and  he  became  the  preserver  of 
Egypt  and  of  the  neighboring  provinces  (xli.).  The  famine 
soon  obliged  Jacob  to  send  his  sons  into  Egypt,  that  they 
might  procure  sustenance  (xlii.  xliii.).  Finally  Joseph 
makes  himself  known  to  his  brethren,  in  the  touching 
manner  which  Scripture  describes  (xliv.  xlv.)  ; he  sends 
for  his  father  and  his  family  (xlvi.)  ; and  Pharaoh  receives 
them  with  kindness  and  establishes  them  in  the  fertile 
country  of  Goshen  (xlvii.). 

We  find  here  new  chronological  difficulties  like  those 
involved  in  determining  the  last  Pharaoh.  Without  pre- 
tending to  decide  an  arduous  question,  let  us  follow  the 
hypothesis  of  Usher. 

Scripture  in  no  way  indicates  a succession  of  sovereigns 
at  the  epoch  which  we  are  attempting  to  trace  ; and 
besides,  this  circumstance  would  have  been  of  no  conse- 


92 


quence  whatever  in  relation  to  a history  exclusively  na- 
tional and  religious.  But  the  dates  commonly  assigned 
in  sacred  chronology  to  the  various  facts  which  belong 
to  this  epoch,  will  not  allow  us  to  view  them  as  having 
transpired  under  a single  reign.  We  are  obliged  to  re- 
cognize two  Pharaohs  in  this  space  of  twenty  and  some 
years. 

If  we  admit  that  Joseph  was  sold  by  his  brethren  near 
the  year  1827  before  the  Christian  era  (as  is  admitted  by 
many  interpreters  since  Usher),  the  Pharaoh  who  govern- 
ed Egypt  when  the  son  of  Jacob  arrived  there,  and  whose 
officer  Potiphar,  the  master  of  Joseph,  commanded  his 
troops,  would  be  the  fifth  king  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty. 
The  Egyptian  legends  give  him  the  name  of  Thouthmosis 
(hi.).  The  ancient  chronologists  call  him  MipTira  or 
Miphres , which  the  Champollions  have  discovered  to  be 
identical  with  the  Mœris  of  Greek  historians,*  a prince 
who  gave  his  name  to  a famous  lake  which  he  excavated, 
and  who  was  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  of  Egyptian 
kings.  In  fact  this  Pharaoh  reigned  nearly  thirteen  years, 
that  is  to  say  from  the  year  1736  till  the  year  1723,  before 
our  era.  His  royal  cartouches  are  found  in  great  numbers 
upon  the  fabrics  in  Egypt  and  Nubia,  upon  the  grand 
obelisk  of  St.  Jean  de  Latran  which  w'as  formerly  trans- 
ported to  Rome,  upon  a statue  in  the  Turin  Museum ,t 
and  upon  a multitude  of  scarabées,  amulets,  and  other 
monuments  of  small  dimensions  and  of  various  kinds, 
which  are  found  either  in  private  cabinets  or  in  public 
museums.  The  most  remarkable,  without  contradiction, 
is  a fragment  of  a hieratic  papyrus  found  by  Champollion 
in  the  Turin  Museum,  which  bears  the  date  of  Pharaoh’s 
fifth  year .f 

* Letter  1st  upon  the  Turin  Museum , pp.  82,  83.  t Ibidy  p.  31. 

t Bulletin  des  sciences  historiques,  tom.  n.  p.  302. 


93 


But  the  Pharaoh  who  is  most  conspicuous  in  the  history 
of  Joseph,  he  who  drew  him  from  prison,  who  received 
from  Joseph  an  explanation  of  his  mysterious  dreams,  who 
made  him  his  minister  and  invested  him  with  all  his  own 
authority — who  finally  established  Jacob  and  his  sons 
in  Egypt,  would  be  the  son  and  successor  of  the  same 
Thouthmosis-Mœris,  who  is  called  by  the  chronicles 
Miphra-Thouthmosis , and  by  the  legends  Amenopkis 
(second  of  the  name).  He  was  the  sixth  king  of  the 
eighteenth  dynasty,  and  his  reign  of  more  than  twenty- 
five  years,  was  from  the  year  1723  before  our  era  to  the 
year  1697.  For  the  facts  which  we  attribute  to  this  reign, 
could  not,  according  to  the  most  generally  admitted  dates 
of  sacred  chronology,  have  transpired  anterior  to  the  year 
1714,  nor  posterior  to  the  year  1705,  before  our  era.  The 
hieroglyphic  names  of  this  Pharaoh  are  read  upon  many 
edifices  of  Egypt  and  Nubia,  especially  upon  a part  of  the 
temple  of  Amada , beyond  the  first  cataract.  The  Turin 
Museum  contains  a beautiful  colossal  statue  of  this  prince 
in  red  granite,  and  upon  the  waist  is  a royal  cartouche 
enclosing  his  surname  ;*  the  museum  of  Charles  X.  also 
contains  many  small  monuments  which  bear  his  name. 

Like  the  preceding,  these  chronological  results  depend 
entirely  upon  the  system  of  Usher,  to  which  other  chro- 
nologists  and  interpreters  approach  sufficiently  near.  But 
the  learned  bishop  of  Cesarea  traces  much  farther  back 
the  epoch  of  Joseph.  He  places  his  administration  in 
Egypt  under  the  dynasty  of  the  Shepherds,  which  was  the 
seventeenth.!  This  would  give  to  the  sojourn  of  the 
Hebrews  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs,  a duration  much 
longer  than  it  is  commonly  supposed  to  have  been,  and 

* 1st  Letter  upon  the  Turin  Museum,  p.  36. 

t Euseb.,  ed.  Scalig.,  Chron.  Grcec.,\ ?.  22;  ed.  Venet.,  tom.  i. 
p.  214;  ed.  Milan,  p.  100. 


94 


would  explain  much  more  strictly  than  ever  has  been  ex- 
plained, the  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  spoken  of  in 
Scripture  ( Gen.  xv.  13).  Syncellus,  as  quoted  by  Jose- 
phus, gives  us  to  understand  that  the  elevation  of  Joseph 
took  place  under  the  king  named  Apophis  or  Aphophis. 
These  authorities  merit  discussion;  and  we  leave  them 
to  the  diligence  of  the  learned  men,  who  specially  devote 
themselves  to  chronological  labors. 

5.  The  sons  of  Israel  were  multiplied  in  Egypt  and 
became  a great  people,*  when  a Pharaoh  arose,  who  knew 
not  Joseph , and  who,  terrified  by  the  power  which  this 
stranger  people  were  daily  acquiring,  adopted  concerning 
the  Hebrews  sentiments  very  diverse  from  those  of  his 
predecessors.  He  wished  to  oppress  them  by  overbur- 
dening them,  and  setting  over  them  severe  taskmasters  ; 
he  employed  them  in  making  brick  and  mortar , and  in 
building  treasure  cities  (Exod.  i.  8 — 11).  But  finding 
these  means  insufficient,  he  cruelly  caused  all  their  infant 
male  children  to  be  destroyed,  at  first  by  the  hands  of 
midwives,  and  afterwards  by  ordering  them  to  be  thrown 
into  the  river  (i.  12 — 22).  It  was  then  that  Moses  was 
exposed  by  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  and  was  drawn  out 
from  the  borders  of  the  river  by  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh, 
who  saved  his  life  and  adopted  him  for  her  son  (ii.  3 — 10). 

A great  number  of  historians  and  critics,  both  ancient 
and  modern,  have  believed  this  Pharaoh  to  be  the  same 

* This  rapid  increase  of  the  Hebrew  people,  and  the  condition  of 
their  army  when  they  went  out  of  Egypt  (Exod.  xii.  37),  have 
created  an  objection  in  the  minds  of  skeptics.  The  difficulty,  if  there 
is  any,  has  been  fully  resolved  by  many  polemic  writers.  But  for  a 
better  treatise  on  this  subject,  we  refer  to  a very  interesting  note  by 
Dureau  de  la  Malle,  a member  of  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  and 
Belles  Lettres,  who  clearly  demonstrates  the  possibility  of  this  fact. 
As  it  has  no  direct  connection  with  our  object,  and  as  its  length  pre- 
cludes its  introduction  here,  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  end  of  Du- 
reau’s  Poliorcétique  des  anciens , Paris,  1819,  in  8vo  (p.  441). 


95 


with  the  celebrated  Raineses  or  Ramses  (iv.)  Meiamoun , 
the  sixth  and  last  king  but  one  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty. 
But  if  we  attend  to  the  fact  that  Moses  was  eighty  years 
old  at  the  time  of  the  departure  from  Egypt,  and  that  he 
died  at  the  age  of  an  hundred  and  twenty,  when  the  wan- 
derings of  forty  years  in  the  desert  were  ended  (Deut. 
xxxiv.  7),  we  shall  see  that  all  the  events  to  which  we 
have  referred  cannot,  in  this  view,  be  reconciled  with  the 
dates  generally  adopted.  In  fact  Moses  was  born  near 
the  year  1570  before  the  Christian  era,  and  Rameses 
Meiamoun  mounted  the  throne  of  Egypt  in  the  year  1559 
before  the  Christian  era.  This  circumstance  at  least 
obliges  us  to  separate  the  events. 

Since  that  barbarous  measure  (which  would  have  de- 
stroyed the  young  Moses  but  for  the  special  protection 
of  Providence  which  destined  him  for  great  events)  was 
anterior  to  the  birth  of  the  Hebrew  chief,  that  is  to  say 
was  anterior  to  the  year  1570  before  the  Christian  era, 
the  Pharaoh  who  polluted  himself  with  this  crime,  appears 
to  us  to  be  the  thirteenth  king  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty, 
the  second  of  the  two  Achencheres  described  by  histo- 
rians,* the  king  to  whom  the  monuments  give  the  name 
of  Mandouei  (2d  of  this  name),  and  whose  reign,  which 
Manetho  makes  to  consist  of  twenty  years,  commenced 
1585,  and  ended  1565  years  before  the  Christian  era. 
Many  monuments  are  covered  with  his  hieroglyphic 
legends.  M.  Huyot  has  found  his  name  in  the  hypostyle 
[i.  e.  supported  by  pillars]  hall  of  Karnac  at  Thebes. 

* The  first  Achencheres,  his  brother  and  predecessor,  is  called 
v Ousirei  in  his  legends.  To  him  belongs  the  admirable  tomb  disco- 
vered at  Thebes  by  Belzoni,  and  the  beautiful  alabaster  sarcophagus 
which  is  now  in  England.  In  this  tomb,  was  found  an  immense 
number  of  funereal  figures  in  wood,  which,  scattered  about  the  cabi- 
nets, have  made  the  cartouche  of  Ousirei  more  common  than  any 
other. 


96 


Champollion  has  read  it  upon  a very  beautiful  bas-relief 
of  the  Royal  Turin  Museum,  and  he  attributes  to  this 
king  likewise  the  grand  obelisk  which  was  formerly  raised 
by  Augustus  among  the  ruins  of  Heliopolis,  and  which 
now  adorns  in  Rome  the  place  called  del  popolo  * 

We  are  very  far,  however,  from  rejecting  the  opinion 
which  makes  Ramses  Meiamoun  one  of  the  oppressors  of 
the  Hebrews  ; we  believe,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  facts  related  in  the  first  chapter  of  Exodus,  may 
be  attributed  to  him.  Indeed,  the  Scriptures  authorize 
the  belief,  that  the  system  of  precaution  adopted  against 
the  people  of  God,  continued  until  the  period  of  their 
departure  from  Egypt,  and  that  it  existed,  consequently, 
under  many  successors  of  Achenclieres  Mandouei,  and 
especially  during  the  long  reign  of  Rameses  IV.,  sur- 
named  Meiamoun,  that  is  to  say  friend  of  Ammon.  This 
prince,  next  after  the  chief  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  has 
perhaps  built  the  most  numerous  and  the  most  magnificent 
edifices;  and  we  easily  recognize  in  him,  the  Pharaoh 
who  subjected  the  Hebrews  to  heavy  labors,  though  he 
appears  to  us  innocent  of  the  death  of  their  children.  An 
analogy  of  names  presented  in  Scripture  (the  examination 
of  which  we  defer  to  another  chapter),!  authorizes  us  also 
to  attribute  specially  to  him  one  at  least  of  the  treasure 
cities  built  by  the  Israelites.  It  is  true  that  Scripture 
seems  to  make  the  building  of  these  cities  precede  the 
sanguinary  orders  given  by  Pharaoh  against  the  male  in- 
fants of  Israel  ; but  it  is  lawful  to  consider  the  description 
as  anticipating  the  labors  which  were  imposed  upon  the 
people  of  the  Lord,  or  indeed  as  uniting  in  one  account 
the  cities  which  were  built  at  different  epochs,  without 
being  confined  to  the  order  of  dates. 

The  royal  names  of  this  Ramses  cover  a large  number 

* 1st  Letter  on  the  Turin  Museum,  p.  65.  t See  chapter  viii. 


97 


of  Egyptian  edifices.  They  are  read  upon  different  por- 
tions of  the  fabrics  of  Karnac  and  of  Luxor  at  Thebes, 
and  upon  the  magnificent  palace  of  Medinet-Habou  ; 
whose  sculptures  representing  warlike  scenes,  seem  to 
justify  the  title  of  Martial  or  favorite  of  Mars , which 
sometimes  occurs  in  the  legends.  His  tomb  also  is  known 
in  the  valley  of  Piban-el-MolouJc,  near  Thebes  ; and  though 
there  was  sufficient  reason  for  attributing  it  to  this  Pharaoh 
from  his  cartouches,  the  fact  is  still  farther  confirmed  by 
Greek  inscriptions  traced  upon  the  walls  of  the  excavation, 
which  attest  the  visits  made  by  ancient  travellers  to  the 
tomb  of  Ramses  Meiamoun.  This  sepulchral  dwelling 
once  contained  a sarcophagus,  whose  cover  of  red  granite 
and  of  colossal  dimensions  was  carried  to  England  a few 
years  since,  by  the  traveller  Belzoni,  and  given  to  the  uni- 
versity of  Cambridge.*  The  sarcophagus  itself  has  since 
been  raised  out  of  the  catacombs  of  Biban-el-Moloulc , and 
now  adorns  the  Royal  Museum  of  the  Louvre.  But  the 
most  curious,  surely,  of  all  the  monuments  relating  to  this 
Pharaoh,  is  a plan  of  this  same  tomb  in  faint  colors  on 
papyrus,  which  strictly  conforms  to  that  in  the  description 
of  Egypt,  and  in  which  the  grand  hall  presents  a sarco- 
phagus painted  in  red  granite  color,  whose  ensemble  and 
details  correspond  perfectly  with  the  original.  This  pro- 
duction of  geometrical  design  among  the  Egyptians,  wffiolly 
unique  in  its  kind,  was  discovered  by  Champollion  in  the 
midst  of  a large  quantity  of  papyri  contained  in  the  Turin 
Museum.f 

6.  We  come,  finally,  to  the  fourth  Pharaoh  mentioned 
in  Scripture,  the  last  in  the  books  of  Moses,  and  the  most 
celebrated  of  all.  The  name  of  Pharaoh , expressed  with- 

* Messrs.  Yorke  and  Leake  have  given  a design  of  this  monument 
in  plate  xiv.  of  their  collection  entitled;  The  principal  Egyptian 
Monuments  of  the  British  Museum,  etc.  London,  1827,  in  4to. 

t Bulletin  des  sciences  historiques,  tom.  n.  p.  300. 

9 


98 


out  any  addition  to  determine  its  application,  would  in  most 
minds  immediately  call  up  the  idea  of  a prince  who  was 
the  adversary  of  Moses,  and  who  suffered  chastisements  for 
his  hardness  of  heart.  The  Lord  tells  us  in  his  sacred 
word,  that  having  heard  the  groans  of  his  oppressed  peo- 
ple, he  had  pitied  them,  and  sent  them  a deliverer.  Moses 
presented  himself  before  Pharaoh  in  behalf  of  God,  and 
demanded  from  him  the  liberty  of  the  Hebrews  ; but  this 
blinded  prince,  despising  the  orders  of  the  Lord,  rejected 
the  demand  of  his  commissioned  agent,  and  made  yet 
heavier  the  yoke  with  which  he  oppressed  the  children  of 
Israel  (Exod.  v.).  Moses,  repeating  the  orders  of  the  Lord, 
and  to  prove  his  divine  mission,  performed  miracles  which 
all  the  skill  of  the  wise  men  in  Egypt  assayed  in  vain  to 
imitate,  and  could  not  withstand  (vii.).  The  king  becom- 
ing more  hardened,  Egypt  was  struck  successively  with 
ten  disastrous  plagues  ; and  by  the  last,  in  a single  night, 
all  the  first  born  perished  (vii. — xii.).  It  was  then  that 
Pharaoh,  terrified  by  the  evils  which  he  drew  upon  his 
people,  and  recognizing,  himself  and  his  priests,  the  finger 
of  God,  consented  finally  to  let  the  children  of  Israel  go 
(xii.  31).  But  soon,  repenting  that  he  permitted  them  to 
withdraw  from  the  land  of  Egypt,  he  pursued  them  with 
his  army.  The  waters  of  the  Red  Sea  divided  themselves 
to  open  a miraculous  passage  for  the  people  of  the  Lord, 
and  closing  upon  the  Egyptians  in  their  imprudent  attempt 
to  pass,  swallowed  them  up  in  their  abyss  (xiv.). 

This  presumptuous  and  impious  monarch  is  recognized 
by  many  chronologists  in  the  Pharaoh  Amenophis  (third 
of  the  name),  seventeenth  and  last  king  of  the  eighteenth 
dynasty  ; and  this  identity  is  indisputable.  It  was  already 
established,  in  our  view,  by  Manetho  in  a fragment  which 
Josephus  cites  ( cont . App.  i.  26),  wdiere  he  relates  this 
remarkable  circumstance,  that  the  king  feared  to  contend 


99 


against  God,  or  against  the  gods;  dUd  fiélUiv  ôsouu/eïv 
vofiioag.  In  this  narrative  we  cannot  but  perceive  an 
allusion  to  the  mournful  circumstances  which  transpired 
at  the  departure  of  the  Hebrews  ; and  the  expression  we 
have  quoted  seems  to  us  to  present  a striking  relation  with 
the  expression  of  Scripture,  viz.,  the  finger  of  God  is  here 
(Exod.  viii.  19),  and  to  describe  the  terror  with  which 
the  ten  plagues  had  struck  Egypt  and  its  king.  But  this 
opinion  is  farther  proved  by  the  Egyptian  chronology 
established  by  Champollion  Figeac,  from  the  monuments 
and  the  lists  of  Manetho.  This  Pharaoh,  son  and  suc- 
cessor of  Ramses  Meiamoun , reigned  nineteen  years  and 
six  months,  and  the  known  date  of  the  reign  of  Menophres 
fixes  this  period  between  1493  and  1473  years  before  the 
Christian  era.  About  this  time  it  is  agreed  to  place  the 
departure  from  Egypt.  Usher  fixes  it  in  the  year  1491 
before  the  Christian  era. 

The  monuments  of  this  Pharaoh,  which  are  less  nume- 
rous than  those  of  most  of  his  predecessors,  give  him  the 
name  of  Ramses  (the  V.).  They  are  found  upon  some 
portions  of  the  palace  of  Karnac  in  Thebes  ; and  the 
museum  of  Charles  X.  contains  a funereal  figure  in  alabas- 
ter wrhich  is  the  image  of  this  prince,  and  also  a scarabee 
which  bears  his  surname. 

We  see  that  most  of  the  Pharaohs  mentioned  in  the 
books  of  Moses,  belong  to  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  This 
Diospolitan  family,  which  produced  the  greatest  princes, 
is  that  under  which  the  government  of  Egypt  most  pros- 
pered, which  built  the  most  beautiful  and  vast  edifices, 
and  which  carried  the  arts  to  their  highest  perfection. 
The  intimate  and  continuous  relations  which  the  Hebrews 
had  with  Egypt,  in  consequence  of  their  sojourn  for  two' 
centuries  at  least  in  this  strange  country,  the  prominent 
part  which  they  sustain  in  the  most  important  events  of 


100 


sacred  history,  and  the  accounts  given  us  in  Scripture 
concerning  many  individuals  of  this  people,  render  them, 
in  our  view,  worthy  of  being  studied  with  all  the  interest 
which  sacred  criticism  inspires. 

It  might  be  expected  that  we  should  continue  to  inves- 
tigate, in  the  monuments  and  in  the  lists  of  the  historian 
Manetho,  the  rest  of  the  Pharaohs  mentioned  in  other 
books  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  But  we  must  first  resolve 
a sufficiently  weighty  difficulty  relative  to  Pharaoh  the 
cotemporary  of  Moses,  who  resisted  so  long  the  commands 
of  the  Lord,  and  who  we  have  found  to  be  identical  with 
the  king  Ramses  Amenophis.  Good  faith  demands  that 
we  should  not  dissemble  ; and  as  this  subject  needs 
development,  we  shall  examine  it  farther  in  the  following 
chanter 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DIFFICULTY  RELATIVE  TO  THE  LAST  PHARAOH  OF 
EXODUS. 

Did  this  Pharaoh  perish  in  the  Red  Sea  ? Silence  of  the  historical  books  on 
this  subject.  Examination  of  passages  in  the  song  of  the  Israelites  and  in 
the  Psalms.  Some  evidence  in  favor  of  the  opinion  that  this  prince  did 
not  share  in  the  calamity  of  his  army. 

In  the  preceding  chapter,  we  have  pointed  out,  in  ac- 
cordance with  many  critics,  the  identity  of  Amenophis 
Ramses  with  the  last  Pharaoh  mentioned  in  the  books  of 
Moses,  under  whose  reign  the  long  sojourn  of  the  Israel- 
ites in  Egypt  ended.  According  to  Manetho,  he  reigned 
about  twenty  years  ; viz.  from  the  year  1493  before  the 


101 


Christian  era  to  the  year  1473,  as  it  is  calculated  by 
Champollion  Figeac.  The  departure  from  Egypt  then, 
which  occurred  about  the  year  1491  before  the  Christian 
era,  took  place  in  the  second  or  third  year  of  this  prince. 
It  is  usually  said  that  this  Pharaoh  perished  with  his 
army,  which  was  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea  as  it  pursued 
the  Hebrews.  How  shall  we  reconcile  this  fact  with  our 
chronology,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing,  what  shall  be 
done  with  the  seventeen  remaining  years  of  the  reign  at- 
tributed to  Amenophis  ? 

It  is  evident  that  these  two  facts  imply  a contradiction  ; 
that  it  is  impossible  to  reconcile  them  ; and  that  one  must 
necessarily  be  modified  by  the  other.  The  epoch  fixed  on 
by  Champollion  Figeac,  viz.  that  of  the  reign  of  Meno- 
phres  (which  we  employ  as  a point  of  departure),  is,  as  we 
have  seen,  indisputably  determined  ; the  identity  of  the 
Pharaoh  in  question  with  Ramses  Amenophis , appears  to 
us  equally  certain  ; and  the  date  we  have  assigned  to  the 
deliverance  of  the  people  of  Cod,  is  now  generally  admit- 
ted, with  the  exception  of  certain  slight  differences  that 
have'no  connection  with  the  seventeen  years  about  which 
the  difficulty  exists.  Besides,  the  chronological  system 
we  have  adopted,  and  which  embraces  about  thirteen  cen- 
turies, exhibits  a consistent  and  methodical  whole,  per- 
fectly in  harmony  with  other  epochs  in  Scripture,  and  it 
will  demonstrate  our  remaining  statements  concerning 
the  Pharaohs. 

Is  it  a certain  fact  then,  that  the  Pharaoh  who  pursued 
the  Hebrews  was  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea  ? True,  it  has 
been  related  by  most  modern  historians,  who  have  con- 
strued literally  certain  figurative  expressions  of  Scripture, 
and  it  has  been  copied  particularly  in  all  those  abridgements 
which  in  our  childhood  gave  us  a lively  impression  of  this 
tragical  event.  But  the  opinion  is  not  a necessary  result 
9* 


102 


of  an  enlightened  and  religious  discussion  of  the  sacred 
text  ; and  we  believe  that  a contrary  opinion,  which  will  do 
away  the  objection  we  have  here  anticipated,  may  be  sus- 
tained without  rashness.  Let  us  now  examine  this  opin- 
ion ; its  apparent  novelty  should  not  render  it  suspicious. 
It  will  be  seen  that,  though  it  may  be  difficult  to  give  it  a 
perfect  demonstration,  it  can  still  be  supported  by  reason- 
ings which  make  it  sufficiently  probable. 

1.  Scripture  does  not  compel  us  to  believe  that  the 
Pharaoh  with  whom  we  now  are  concerned,  participated  in 
the  fatal  calamity  of  his  army.  And  first,  Moses  says  not 
a word  to  this  effect,  when  he  relates  the  miracle  per- 
formed by  the  Lord  in  favor  of  his  people.  He  informs 
us,  it  is  true,  that  Pharaoh  marched  in  pursuit  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  ; And  he  made  ready  his  chariot  and  took 
his  people  with  him.  And  he  took  six  hundred  chosen 
chariots , and  all  the  chariots  of  Egypt , and  captains  over 
every  one  of  them.  And  the  Lord  hardened  the  heart  of 
Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt , and  he  pursued  after  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  (Exod.  xiv.  6 — 8).  A little  farther  on  he 
says  ; And  the  Egyptians  pursued,  and  ivent  in  after 
them,  into  the  midst  of  the  sea,  even  all  Pharaoh’s  horses , 
his  chariots  and  his  horsemen  (v.  23).  Finally  he  adds  ; 
And  the  waters  returned,  and  covered  the  chariots,  and 
the  horsemen,  and  all  the  host  of  Pharaoh  that  came  into 
the  sea  after  them  ; there  remained  not  so  much  as  one  of 
them  (v.  28).  Such  are  the  principal  features  of  the  nar- 
rative which  Moses  gives  of  this  Egyptian  expedition,  and 
of  the  terrible  event  in  which  it  resulted.  But  in  the  cir- 
cumstantial account  of  this  disaster,  he  does  not  name 
Pharaoh  personally  except  when  he  speaks  of  his  depar- 
ture. Now  if  the  persecutor  of  Israel  entered  the  Red 
Sea  with  his  army,  and  was  swallowed  up  with  it,  is  it 
probable  that  the  chief  and  legislator  of  the  Hebrews 


103 


would  have  been  silent  about  such  a circumstance  as  the 
tragical  death  of  this  prince  ? an  event  more  important, 
perhaps,  than  even  the  destruction  of  his  army,  and  surely 
very  proper  as  a striking  illustration  both  of  the  protection 
which  God  extended  to  his  people,  and  of  the  chastise- 
ments his  justice  inflicted  upon  the  impious.  And  far- 
ther ; to  strengthen  the  faith  of  this  people  when  in  a 
state  of  distrust  and  murmuring,  Moses  often  recounts  to 
them  their  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage,  their  pas- 
sage through  the  Red  Sea,  and  the  other  miracles  which 
God  had  wrought  for  them  ; and  on  all  these  occasions, 
when  the  allusion  to  the  death  of  an  oppressive  prince 
would  have  been  so  natural,  he  conveys  no  such  idea. 

The  circumstance  related  by  Moses,  that  no  one  escap- 
ed, there  remained  not  so  much  as  one  of  them,  proves 
nothing  relative  to  the  supposed  disaster  of  Pharaoh.  It 
refers  to  those  who  followed  the  Hebrews  into  the  sea, 
among  whom  Moses  does  not  enumerate  this  prince.  We 
remark  also,  that  the  sacred  historian  seems  designedly  to 
leave  room  for  making  exceptions  to  the  general  disaster, 
by  the  precise  manner  in  which  he  announces,  that  the 
waters  covered  the  chariots  and  the  horsemen,  and  all  the 
host  of  Pharaoh  that  came  into  the  sea  after  them  ; this 
literally  signifies  that  the  waters  covered  only  the  chariots 
and  horsemen  which  entered  into  the  sea,  and  leaves 
us  to  infer  that  all  did  not  enter.  The  incidental  ex- 
pression in  verse  28,  that  came  into  the  sea  after  them, 
seems  then  to  modify  the  more  general  expression  in  verse 
23,  even  all,  and  authorizes  us  to  understand  it  with  some 
latitude,  rather  than  to  restrain  it  to  its  rigorous  sense. 
All  these  circumstances  of  the  narrative  accord  with  the 
presumption,  not  only  that  Pharaoh  did  not  enter  into  thé 
Red  Sea,  but  perhaps  even  that  some  of  his  infantry,  if  he 
possessed  any,  did  not  enter  ; and  at  least,  that  this  is 


104 


true  of  some  principal  chiefs  who  surrounded  him,  and 
who  formed  what  we  now  call  a body  of  staff-officers. 

In  relating  the  miraculous  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  the 
book  of  Wisdom,  which  describes  so  often  and  in  such  an 
admirable  manner,  the  wonders  of  the  Lord  in  conducting 
his  people,  and  which  celebrates  the  illustrious  men  whom 
he  made  his  instruments,  makes  no  mention  either  of  Pha- 
raoh or  of  his  tragical  death.  It  is  limited  to  the  remark, 
that  in  his  wisdom  he  precipitated  the  enemies  of  Israel 
into  the  sea  ( Wisdom  of  Solomon,  x.  19). 

2.  We  must  not  conceal  that  this  opinion  meets  with 
difficulties,  from  passages  in  the  song  of  the  Hebrews  after 
the  destruction  of  the  Egyptians,  and  in  the  book  of  Psalms. 
In  the  first  place,  we  reply  generally  to  an  objection  from 
these  sources,  by  suggesting  a wise  rule  of  sacred  criticism, 
which  has  always  been  universally  adopted,  at  least  in 
theory;  viz.  that  the  Psalms  and  other  songs  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  even  a considerable  portion  of  the  prophets,  being 
poetry,  we  ought,  in  the  use  which  we  make  of  them,  to 
estimate  correctly  the  metaphors,  and  numerous  figures 
familiar  to  poetry  in  all  languages,  but  especially  in  those 
of  the  east.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  when  simple  facts 
are  in  question,  the  historical  books  of  the  Bible  are  the 
strongest  authority,  and  should  be  preferred  as  furnishing 
the  most  positive  information  every  time  any  seeming  con- 
tradiction is  apparent  between  the  sacred  writers.  But  a 
discussion  of  the  texts  alleged  will  supply  a more  definite 
reply  to  the  objection. 

Moses  says  in  his  song  ( Exod.  xv.  19)  ; Ingressus  est 
eques  Pliarao  cum  curribus  etequitibus  ejus  in  mare;  et 
reduxit  super  eos  Dominus  aquas  maris,  i.  e.  the  horse  of 
Pharaoh  went  in  loith  his  chariots  and  with  his  horsemen 
into  the  sea,  and  the  Lord  brought  again  the  waters  of 
the  sea  upon  them.  This  passage  seems  to  signify  that 


105 


Pharaoh,  marching  with  his  chariots  and  his  horsemen,  en- 
tered on  horseback  into  the  sea,  and  was  there  submerged 
with  his  army.  But  the  word  DT  D,  literally  horse , as  it  reads 
in  the  original  text,  does  not  appear  to  designate  here  a beast 
for  the  personal  use  of  Pharaoh,  who  ought  to  be  mounted 
upon  a chariot  according  to  the  custom  of  the  kings  of 
Egypt,*  as  the  sacred  historian  has  given  us  to  understand, 
when  in  a preceding  verse  he  says  that  Pharaoh  made  ready 
his  chariot  (xiv.  6).  Here  DTD  rather  indicates  cavalry , 
whether  it  may  take  this  sense  in  a rigorous  grammatical 
way,  like  its  feminine  derivative  HD^D,  or  whether  it  takes 
this  sense  extraordinarily  and  in  a figurative  manner  very 
natural  to  poetic  style.  It  is  for  this  reason,  doubtless, 
that  the  Vulgate  has  put  eques  for  equus , although  it  has 
employed  the  nominative  Pharao , instead  of  the  gen- 
itive Pliaraonis , as  the  text  would  authorize  it  to  be  trans- 
lated. In  Greek,  the  word  innog,  which  the  Septuagint 
has  preserved,  designates  cavalry , as  well  as  a horse  ; 
only  in  the  first  sense  it  is  feminine,  but  here  there  is  no 
article  nor  words  in  connection  to  indicate  the  gender.  The 
evident  result  of  this  explanation  is,  that  the  same  enume- 
rative  phrase  comprises  the  horses , the  chariots , and  the 
horsemen  of  Pharaoh , because  the  sense  would  be  ; the 
cavalry  of  Pharaoh , with  his  chariots  and  horsemen , 
entered  into  the  sea.  But  this  manner  of  speaking,  which 
would  be  extraordinary  in  our  modern  languages,  is  not 
so  in  the  style  of  Scripture,  and  we  see  it  used  in  the  Vul- 
gate, even  in  the  narrative  of  Moses  ; Equitatus  Pliaraonis , 
currus  ejus,  et  équités , i.  e.  Pharaoh’s  horses , his  chariots , 
and  his  horsemen  (Exod.  xiv.  23).  The  Hebrew  text 

* The  bas-reliefs  and  paintings  which  represent  the  combats  of  the 
ancient  Egyptian  monarchs,  and  all  the  monuments  of  Thebes,  exhibit 
them  fighting  in  chariots.  Homer  thus  presents  his  heroes  in  com- 
bat. In  general,  cavalry  were  rare  in  high  antiquity. 


106 


then,  in  the  song  of  the  Israelites,  proves  nothing  against 
the  opinion  that  Pharaoh  was  not  immersed  in  the  abyss 
of  the  Red  Sea. 

But  there  is  an  expression  in  the  Psalms  on  this  subject, 
which  appears  more  strong,  and  is  more  difficult  to  be 
reconciled  with  the  view  which  we  have  taken.  It  is 
there  said,  that  God  overthrew  Pharaoh  and  his  army  in 
the  Red  Sea  ; Excussit  Pharaonem  et  virtutem  ejus  in 
mari  Ruhro  (Psal.  cxxxvi.  15).  We  continue  to  quote 
from  the  Vulgate  which  renders  literally  the  Hebrew,  the 
verb  ‘isa  perfectly  corresponding  with  the  Latin  excussit. 
This  passage,  at  first,  would  seem  to  be  decidedly  opposed 
to  the  opinion  we  are  endeavoring  to  render  probable.  It 
is  possible  however  to  give  it  a more  favorable  interpreta- 
tion. Cannot  the  word  excussit  (^55),  be  understood 
figuratively  as  well  as  properly,  and  be  applied  to  a moral 
as  well  as  to  a physical  overthrow  ? When  we  imagine 
Pharaoh  a witness  of  the  catastrophe  which  Scripture  de- 
scribes ; as  viewing  the  waves  rapidly  entering  the  bed 
which  they  had  for  a moment  deserted  ; the  path  which 
God  had  opened  for  his  people  closed  before  his  enemies  ; 
the  chariots  overturned,  the  horsemen  and  horses  con- 
fusedly thrown  down  and  immediately  engulphed  ; and 
finally,  seeing  his  army  destroyed  by  the  mighty  hand  of 
the  Lord  ; surely  we  should  think,  that  even  in  surviving 
this  disaster,  he  received  upon  the  borders  of  the  Red  Sea 
the  most  terrible  overthroio  which  a powerful  and  pre- 
sumptuous king  ever  experienced.  We  say  that  a general 
is  beaten , when  he  has  received  only  a slight  blow  ; that 
he  is  annihilated , when  he  sees  the  massacre  or  the  dis- 
graceful flight  of  his  troops  ; and  these  figurative  expres- 
sions, which  are  stronger  than  those  of  the  royal  prophet, 
deceive  no  one  in  regard  to  their  true  meaning.  The 
Syriac  version  of  the  Psalms  supports  this  explanation. 


107 


It  reads  ffil , ei  qui  exagitavit  Pharaonem, 

to  him  icho  terrified  Pharaoh.  The  verb  signifies 

also  pulsavit,  angore , anxietate  affecit , he  heat,  he  affected 
with  pain , with  anxiety.  It  is  used  with  the  participle 
. in  the  version  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 

(xi.  37),  to  render  the  Greek  expression  Kaxov/ovyevoL, 
which  the  Vulgate  has  translated  by  afflicti , afflicted. 
This  may  perhaps  be  the  true  sense  of  oT.  7 ^ V!  in  the 
passage  of  the  Psalms,  ei  qui  angustiavit , qui  afflixit  Pha- 
raonem, to  him  who  straitened,  who  afflicted  Pharaoh. 

We  have  given  to  the  word  virtutem  of  the  Vulgate, 
the  figurative  sense  of  an  army,  as  is  commonly  done. 
We  might  have  left  it  with  its  literal  signification,  virtue, 
force,  courage,  which  the  Hebrew  word  likewise  sig- 
nifies. Then  the  text  of  the  Psalmist  would  read  ; Pha- 
raoh and  his  courage,  or  the  courage  of  Pharaoh,  was 
made  to  vanish  in  the  Red  Sea , when  he  saw  his  army 
perish;  an  expression  which  a modern  writer  might  allow, 
even  though  he  were  not  a poet.  Finally  the  mode  of 
speaking  which  the  royal  prophet  always  adopts,  should  be 
considered  as  one  elevated  and  strongly  figurative,  de- 
signed rather  to  convey  the  idea  of  the  army  of  Pharaoh, 
than  of  Pharaoh  and  his  army  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
words.  This  would  be  altogether  in  the  lofty  style  of  the 
sacred  songs  and  of  the  prophets  ; and  many  analogous 
examples  can  be  found  in  Scripture. 

But  we  will  not  push  any  farther  these  philological 
discussions.  Sufficient  has  been  said,  in  our  estimation, 
to  answer  the  objection  in  Psalm  cxxxvi.  ; and  we  think 
that  the  strong  term  of  expression  in  some  pieces  of  poetry, 
does  not  destroy  the  argument  drawn  from  the  absolute 
silence  which  the  historian  of  the  people  of  God  preserves, 
in  relation  to  the  death  of  Pharaoh. 


108 


3.  To  confirm  the  unusual  opinion  which  we  have  here 
been  discussing,  one  would  wish  to  see  it  supported  by 
some  historical  authorities  ; for  what  we  have  said  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Scripture  texts,  amounts  only  to  a negative  argu- 
ment, and  can  only  tend  to  weaken  the  generally  received 
opinion,  without  establishing  its  opposite.  Historical  data 
on  this  subject  are  but  few  in  number;  still  they  must  not  be 
neglected,  and  the  following  are  among  the  most  important. 
Josephus  has  preserved,  among  other  passages  from  ancient 
historians  relating  to  Egypt,  quite  a long  fragment  from  the 
Egyptian  Manetho  ( Cont.  App.  i.  26  & 27)  ; from  which 
we  have  quoted  one  expression  concerning  the  Pharaoh 
in  question.  In  this  fragment,  we  perceive  evident  allusion 
to  the  departure  of  the  people  of  God  from  Egypt  ; and 
amidst  a variety  of  irrelevant  matter  which  is  intermixed, 
there  are  many  facts  related  which  preceded  and  ac- 
companied this  great  event.  We  shall  notice  here  only  the 
most  striking  among  those,  which  appear  to  have  direct 
connection  with  our  subject.  Manetho  in  the  first  place 
says,  that  Amenophis,  the  Pharaoh  with  whom  wTe  are  now 
occupied,  wishing  to  drive  away  a troop  of  lepers  (whom 
he  puts  in  the  place  of  the  Israelites),  was  terrified  by  the 
prophetic  menaces  of  an  Egyptian  priest  ; a circumstance 
which  seems  to  relate,  though  indirectly,  to  the  divine 
mission  of  Moses,  his  menaces  to  Pharaoh,  and  the 
plagues  with  which  God  smote  Egypt.  He  adds,  that  this 
prince  decided  however  to  march  with  his  army  against 
the  lepers,  who  were  in  a state  of  open  rebellion,  and 
against  their  allies  who  had  come  from  Palestine • This 
characterizes  the  Hebrews.  He  goes  on  to  say,  that  fearing 
to  make  war  against  God  or  against  the  gods,  he  did  not 
enter  into  combat  with  them , but  returned  to  Memphis  ; 
from  whence  he  immediately  went  to  Ethiopia.  Our 
author  makes  him  afterwards  return  again  [to  Memphis] 


109 


with  his  son  Ramses.  JlafovÔQopi'jaaç  rnsv  eîç  Mépcpiv... 
svâv'ç  eiç  Aid  louLuv  ...dv^/di] . ’Enïjkôev  o'  Afiévwcpiç  dno 
Aidconiug  pisjd  ptEydlrjç  Ôvvdfieojç,  nui  o'  vioç  avrov 
'Pdpiiftrjç. 

This  passage  is  in  some  respects  very  remarkable,  and 
particularly  in  relation  to  the  question  we  are  discussing  ; 
which  is  formally  decided,  if  we  admit  the  narrative  of 
Manetho,  because  he  makes  Amenophis  survive  the  pur- 
suit of  the  Israelites,  who  are  evidently  the  same  with  the 
lepers.  The  fables  with  which  this  testimony  is  mingled, 
and  the  character  of  its  author,  an  Egyptian  priest  who 
could  not  well  be  altogether  impartial,  may  perhaps  impair 
its  historic  authority  in  the  minds  of  some  readers.  But 
it  will  doubtless  appear  more  weighty,  when  we  recollect 
that  the  Jewish  historian  Josephus  was  interested  in  de- 
stroying the  credit  of  Manetho,  and  that  in  the  chapter 
from  which  the  above  extract  is  taken,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing, he  refutes  in  detail,  and  often  with  bitterness,  certain 
errors  of  the  Egyptian  annalist,  and  sometimes  is  even 
unjustly  partial  to  facts  which  oppose  his  particular  views. 
This  same  Josephus  makes  no  answer  to  the  alleged  fact 
of  Pharaoh’s  return  to  Memphis,  nor  does  he  contradict  it 
in  any  manner. 

It  appears  besides  that  the  ancient  Jews  did  not  regard 
as  certain,  the  drowning  of  the  persecutor  of  their  fathers 
in  the  Red  Sea.  This  conclusion  is  fairly  drawn  from 
the  silence  of  Josephus,  who  does  not  mention  it  while  he 
is  narrating  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  (ii.  Antiq.  xvi.  1), 
and  he  does  not  indicate  even  that  Pharaoh  himself 
marched  with  his  army  to  the  sea.  The  same  inference 
may  be  made  from  Philo,  who  makes  no  more  reference 
to  the  death  of  Pharaoh  than  Josephus  does,  while  he  is 
relating  the  great  event  of  passing  the  Red  Sea  {De  vita 
Mosis , i.  p.  629.  edit.  Paris.  1640).  Lastly  from  the 
10 


110 


poet  Ezekiel,*  who  limits  himself  to  saying  that  the  waves 
returned  upon  the  path  opened  by  the  Lord  for  his  people, 
and  that  the  Red  Sea  swallowed  up  the  forces  of  the 
Egyptians  (Euseb.  Prœp.  Evang.  p.  445). 

Something  more  direct  still  is  found  in  the  opinion  of 
many  Rabbins,  who  say  that  God  preserved  Pharaoh 
from  death  ; that  he  did  not  die  ; and  that  he  went  to 
Nineveh  where  he  reigned  and  repented.  We  know  that 
Rabbinical  opinions  in  general  are  worthy  of  but  little 
confidence  ; and  we  are  far  from  admitting  this  opinion, 
with  the  singular  circumstances  which  accompany  it. 
However,  we*  beg  the  liberty  to  repeat  an  important  re- 
mark, which  grows  out  of  an  attentive  examination  of  an- 
cient traditions  ; viz.  that  fables  when  so  often  mingled  in 
history  by  writers  of  high  antiquity,  especially  where 
primitive  times  are  concerned,  are  rarely  episodes  of  pure 
invention,  and  without  any  historical  foundation.  Gene- 
rally they  have  an  evident  relation  with  some  commonly 
known  fact,  although  they  are  strangely  disfigured  and 
embellished  with  marvellous  things  which  the  imagina- 
tion of  poets  or  the  credulity  of  the  multitude  have  added. 
Is  it  not  fair  then  to  apply  here  this  maxim  derived  from 
experience,  and  to  admit  the  principal  fact,  disengaged 
from  the  suspicious  details  which  accompany  it  ; that  is 
to  say,  may  we  not  suppose,  according  to  the  above  pas- 
sage, and  in  view  of  the  silence  of  Scripture  and  of  the 
Jewish  authors,  and  its  perfect  agreement  in  the  main  with 
the  historian  of  Egypt,  that  Pharaoh  the  adversary  of 

* This  Ezekiel,  who  was  a very  different  individual  from  the  pro- 
phet who  hears  the  name,  was  an  Alexandrine  Jew,  of  whose  age 
we  are  ignorant.  He  wrote  in  Greek  verses,  a tragedy  of  which 
Moses  is  the  hero.  Eusebius,  in  his  Evangelical  Preparation,  has 
preserved  long  and  numerous  fragments  of  this  writer  which  are  not 
void  of  interest.  Clement  of  Alexandria  also  quotes  him  (Strom,  i. 
pp.  414,  415,  ed.  Pot). 


Ill 


Moses  escaped  death?  It  may  have  been,  either  that 
God  preserved  him  from  the  sea,  or  that  he  did  not  him- 
self march  with  his  army,  or  (which  appears  more  pro- 
bable) that  remaining  upon  the  bank  while  his  troops  at- 
tempted to  effect  a passage,  he  was  only  a witness  of  the 
frightful  catastrophe  which  buried  them  in  the  waters. 

We  have  dwelt  a considerable  time  upon  this  question. 
Obliged,  in  a manner,  by  chronological  results  which  ap- 
pear to  us  certain,  to  adopt  an  opinion  about  the  death  of 
the  last  Pharaoh  in  Exodus , which  is  at  variance  with  the 
common  ideas  on  the  subject,  we  have  thought  it  a duty 
to  justify  it  from  the  charge  of  temerity  which  might  be 
brought  against  it,  and  to  support  it  by  arguments  of  some 
weight.  We  regret  that  we  cannot  add  the  authority  of 
some  learned  critics.  Being  of  no  importance  except 
as  it  stands  connected  with  chronology,  it  has  hardly  been 
discussed.  We  find  it  defended  only  by  Desvignoles,*  in 
a well  connected  system  which  has  furnished  us  with  a 
part  of  our  reasonings  on  the  subject.  Whatever  may  be 
the  degree  of  conviction  they  will  produce  in  the  mind  of 
the  reader,  they  suffice  at  least  to  render  the  opinion  plau- 
sible, that  the  Pharaoh  Amenophis,  surviving  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  army  in  the  Red  Sea,  might  have  reigned  until 
the  year  1473  before  the  Christian  era,  a period  when, 
having  occupied  the  throne  about  twenty  years,  he  left  it 
to  his  son  Ramses  or  Sethon.  In  this  hypothesis,  which 
is  established  by  ancient  chronicles,  there  is  nothing  which 
militates  with  the  dates  that  we  are  obliged  to  admit. 
[See  Appendix  Q,.] 

* Chronologie  de  V Histoire  Sainte.  Berlin,  1738,  2 vols,  in  4to, 

tom.  n.  p.  731. 


CHAPTER  V. 


OTHER  PHARAOHS  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

Pharaoh  cotemporary  with  David.  Pharaoh  father  in  law  of  king 
Solomon.  Pharaohs  mentioned  in  various  texts  of  the  prophets. 

In  the  following  chapter,  which  will  necessarily  be  very 
brief,  we  return  to  the  biblical  chronology  of  the  kings  of 
Egypt,  and  we  shall  notice  the  remainder  of  those  who  are 
designated  in  Scripture  only  by  the  common  name  of  Pha- 
raoh. We  now  leave  far  behind  the  eighteenth  dynasty, 
which  was  cotemporaneous  with  the  sojourn  of  the  Isra- 
elites in  Egypt,  and  which  occupies  many  pages  in  the 
narratives  of  Genesis  and  of  Exodus.  But  the  relations  of 
Egypt  with  the  Hebrews,  who  during  a period  of  four 
centuries  are  not  mentioned  by  the  sacred  historians,  re- 
appear in  the  books  of  the  Kings , in  which  we  are  re- 
ferred to  the  epoch  of  the  twenty-first  dynasty  ; and  two 
new  Pharaohs  are  pointed  out,  who  were  differently  con- 
nected with  a monarch  and  an  enemy  of  Israel. 

1.  When  Joab,  general  in  chief  of  David’s  army,  enter- 
ed Idumea  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  in  order  to  lay  waste 
the  country  (2  Sam.  viii.  14),  Hadad  prince  of  the  blood 
royal  of  Edom,  was  taken  while  a child  by  the  servants 
of  his  father  who  wished  to  preserve  him  from  death,  and 
carried  to  Egypt;  from  whence  he  afterwards  returned,  to 
carry  forward  an  opposition  to  king  Solomon.  The  mon- 
arch who  then  occupied  the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs,  re- 
ceived this  fugitive  prince  with  kindness,  gave  him  a 


113 


house,  lands,  and  revenue,  and  becoming  attached  to  him, 
espoused  him  to  the  sister  of  the  queen  his  wife,  and  was 
desirous  to  educate  in  his  palace  the  son  who  sprung  from 
this  union  (1  Kings  xi.  15 — 20).  The  princess,  who 
was  the  spouse  of  the  Egyptian  king,  is  called  in  Hebrew 
D^SE-hn,  and  Taphnes  in  the  Vulgate;  but  the  Septuagint, 
for  reasons  with  which  we  are  not  acquainted,  have  given 
her  a very  different  name,  Oexs^iva. 

If  we  knew  the  order  of  succession  and  the  names  of 
the  queens  of  Egypt,  as  we  know  their  husbands  by  the 
lists  of  Manetho,  it  would  be  easy  with  the  aid  of  Scrip- 
ture, to  find  in  the  twrenty-first  dynasty  (for  he  can  belong 
to  no  other)  the  Pharaoh  now  in  question.  In  default  of 
any  such  resource,  we  must  recur  to  the  only  means  left, 
and  compare  the  dates. 

The  facts  which  we  have  collected  from  Scripture,  not 
being  connected  with  any  more  prominent  events  whose 
dates  are  fixed  by  the  sacred  writer,  are  still  very  uncer- 
tain, and  can  be  determined  only  by  conjecture.  The 
flight  of  the  Idumean  prince  into  Egypt,  about  the  year 
1037  before  the  Christian  era,  may  however  be  regarded 
as  probable  ; and  we  may  suppose  that  he  went  out  from 
Egypt  about  the  year  1013  before  our  era.  According  to 
these  data , his  sojourn  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs,  which 
would  be  24  years  in  duration,  would  have  taken  place 
under  several  kings  of  the  twrenty-first  dynasty.  The 
Pharaoh  who  furnished  him  with  an  asylum,  w7ould  be 
the  second  sovereign  of  that  family,  to  whom  history  and 
the  monuments  give  the  name  of  Psousenes  (1st),  and 
whose  reign  of  46  years  extended  from  the  year  1075,  to 
the  year  1029  before  the  Christian  era.  The  king  who 
married  his  sister  in  law,  will  be  found  in  Neplielcheres , 
who  succeeded  Psousenes , and  reigned  till  the  year  1025. 

The  exiled  prince  must  likewise  have  witnessed  the 
10* 


114 


reign  of  Pharaoh  Amenophis , the  fourth  king  of  this 
family.  Finally,  his  return  would  date  from  the  reign  of 
the  fifth  monarch,  named  Osochor , who  governed  Egypt 
during  six  years,  that  is  to  say,  from  1016  to  1010  before 
the  Christian  era. 

These  conjectures  are  of  little  importance,  by  reason  of 
their  uncertainty  in  respect  to  biblical  chronology  ; and 
especially  because  of  the  little  historic  interest  attached  to 
a monarch  who  is  simply  named  in  Scripture.  But  hav- 
ing undertaken  to  find  the  Pharaohs  of  the  sacred  books 
in  historic  monuments,  we  wish  to  complete  the  labor, 
and  we  feel  bound  not  to  omit  these  details,  though  we 
attach  no  importance  to  them  beyond  their  real  value. 

2.  In  the  same  book  of  Kings , and  at  very  nearly  the 
same  time  with  the  former  Pharaoh,  still  another  Pharaoh 
is  briefly  mentioned.  He  it  is  who  married  his  daughter  to 
Solomon,  king  of  the  Hebrews,  and  who  gave  to  him  for  a 
dowry  the  city  of  Gezer  * of  which  he  took  possession 
after  having  driven  away  the  Canaanites  (1  Kings  ix.  16). 
Scripture  apprizes  us  farther,  that  Solomon,  having  con- 
ducted his  new  spouse  to  the  city  of  David,  lodged  her 
in  the  palace  of  this  prince  until  he  could  build  his  own 
house  (1  Kings  iii.  1 ; 2 Cliron.  vii.  11).  This  circum- 
stance will  aid  us  in  determining  the  epoch  of  this  alliance 
with  Egypt,  which  is  no  where  else  indicated  in  a precise 
manner  ; but  which  it  would  be  natural  to  regard  as  the 
commencement  of  Solomon’s  defection. 

Usher  seems  to  place  the  marriage  of  the  Hebrew  mon- 
arch, about  the  year  1014  before  the  Christian  era.  If  we 
admit  this,  we  shall  find  that  his  father-in-law  was  the 
Pharaoh  Osoclior  whom  we  have  already  named,  because 


* It  appears  that  Gezer  belonged  to  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  ; but  how 
and  under  what  circumstances  did  it  fall  into  the  power  of  Pharaoh  ? 
This  is  a serious  difficulty,  which  we  cannot  here  slop  to  examine. 


115 


Osochor' s reign  of  six  years  according  to  Manetho,  con- 
tinued, according  to  the  chronology  of  Champollion  Figeac, 
from  the  year  1016  before  the  Christian  era  to  the  year 
1010.  We  have  concluded  that  the  king  Osochor  occu- 
pied the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs,  when  the  Idumean 
Hadad  left  the  asylum  he  had  found  in  Egypt.  This  colla- 
tion of  dates  and  the  alliance  of  Osochor  with  Solomon, 
seem  then  to  support  the  conjecture  announced  by  certain 
critics,  who  have  thought  it  probable  that  Pharaoh  inter- 
fered to  mediate  peace  between  the  prince  of  Edom  and 
the  monarch  of  the  Hebrews. 

The  Pharaohs  whom  we  have  been  hitherto  consider- 
ing, erected  many  monuments  which  still  exist  ; and  their 
hieroglyphic  legends  have  been  frequently  observed  by 
Champollion.  This  is  not  the  case  with  those  whom  we 
may  hereafter  notice.  Champollion  however  remarked, 
that  the  royal  names  of  the  first  king  of  the  twenty-first 
dynasty,  Mandou-ftep,  the  Mendes  or  Smendis  of  histo- 
rians, and  of  his  son  or  successor  Psousenes,  are  both  in- 
scribed upon  a stela  in  the  Royal  Turin  Museum.* 

3.  The  generic  title  of  Pharaoh , unaccompanied  by 
any  other  name  which  might  give  it  a definite  application, 
is  often  found  in  the  texts  of  the  prophets  Isaiah,  Jere- 
miah, and  Ezekiel,  who  addressed  to  Egypt  the  formidable 
threatenings  of  the  Lord.  But  the  passages  where  it  oc- 
curs, after  an  examination  of  the  context  and  an  interpre- 
tation by  the  most  able  critics,  do  not  seem  to  designate 
kings  of  Egypt  different  from  those  mentioned  in  the 
historical  books  of  the  Bible.  Some  passages  apply,  in 
general,  to  sovereigns  of  Egypt  who  in  a manner  are 
personifications  of  Egypt  itself;  but  the  greatest  number 
have  reference  to  sovereigns  who  were  allied  with  the 
kings  of  Judah,  and  usually  in  such  a way  as  to  violate 


2d  Letter  on  the  Turin  Museum , pp.  114  seq. 


116 


the  commands  of  God  as  given  by  his  servants.  They  are 
regarded  as  relating  principally  to  the  Pharaohs  Necho 
and  Hophra,  whose  names  the  prophets  have  sometimes 
added  to  the  common  denomination  of  Pharaoh. 

For  these  reasons  we  shall  not  here  take  particular 
notice  of  these  kings,  nor  of  the  passages  of  the  prophets 
in  which  they  are  mentioned.  But  as  they  are  elsewhere 
found  in  the  historical  books  of  the  Kings  and  of  the 
Chronicles , we  must  examine  their  history  in  the  following 
chapter,  where  we  shall  determine  their  chronological 
place.  We  shall  continue  to  trace  their  various  relations 
with  the  Hebrews,  as  they  are  known  to  us  through  the 
Scriptures;  and  we  shall  also  endeavor  to  find  these 
Pharaohs,  with  their  Egyptian  physiognomy,  in  the  an^ 
cient  chronicles  and  in  the  monuments  of  antiquity. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  KINGS  OF  EGYPT  DISTINGUISHED  BY  PROPER 
NAMES  IN  SCRIPTURE. 

Shishak.  Zerah  the  Ethiopian.  So.  Tirhakah.  Necho.  Hophra. 

The  Egyptian  monarchs  whom  we  shall  now  examine, 
are  not  designated  in  the  sacred  books  simply  by  the 
generic  denomination  of  Pharaoh , but  they  have  proper 
names,  which  serve  to  distinguish  them  more  clearly. 
These  names,  however,  when  deprived  of  their  primitive 
terminations  or  of  those  given  to  them  afterwards  by  Greek 
historians,  and  sometimes  altered  even  essentially  in  their 
forms,  are  not  always  easy  to  be  recognized.  In  this  state 


117 


they  have  often  presented  a barrier  to  interpreters,  who 
have  sought  to  discover  them  among  names  preserved  by 
historians  or  ancient  chronologists.  But  these  learned 
men  were  destitute  of  one  powerful  means  of  historic 
criticism,  which  Providence  had  reserved  for  our  age.  It 
is  now  furnished  by  the  discovery  of  Champollion,  and  by 
the  labors  of  his  brother;  and  we  owe  to  these  and  to 
some  other  sources,  the  greatest  portion  of  the  following 
details  which  appear  to  us  worthy  of  some  attention. 

1.  The  first  king  of  Egypt  whose  distinctive  name  is 
given  by  the  sacred  writers,  is  called  ( Shishak  or 

Sheshok );  a name  which  the  Septuagint  interpreters  have 
rendered  by  Zovcruxeiy,  JSov.cruttifi;  the  historian  Josephus 
(viii.  Antiq.  x.  2)  by  2ovoraxog;  and  the  Vulgate,  by 
Sesac ; [in  the  English  version  Shishak.]  Under  his  reign, 
Jeroboam,  who  had  sought  to  arouse  the  Jewish  people 
against  king  Solomon,  and  who  fled  from  the  just  ven- 
geance of  this  prince,  went  down  to  Egypt  to  find  there 
an  asylum  (1  Kings  xi.  40).  It  was  perhaps  on  account 
of  an  alliance  with  this  fugitive  prince,  or  from  the  effect 
of  his  intrigues,  that  a few  years  after,  the  fifth  year  of 
the  reign  of  Rëhoboam,  the  son  and  successor  of  Solomon, 
Shishak  made  an  incursion  into  Judea,  took  possession  of 
Jerusalem,  pillaged  the  temple  of  the  Lord  and  the  trea- 
sures of  the  king,  and  took  away  the  golden  shields  which 
Solomon  had  made  (1  Kings  xiv.  25,  26).  The  second 
book  of  Chronicles , which  relates  the  same  event  some- 
what in  detail,  informs  us  (xii.  3)  of  the  imposing  force 
of  his  army;  which,  besides  the  Egyptians  was 

composed  of  the  Lyhians  fi^^of  a people  called  t3^3p, 
a name  which  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate  render  by 
TçbtyloôvTca,  Troglodytæ;  and  lastly,  of  the  Ethiopia 
ans , fTOs.  This  number  proves  the  power  of  Egypt  at 
this  period,  and  the  extent  of  its  dominion,  or  at  least  of 


118 


its  influence,  over  the  neighboring  nations.  It  appears 
that  the  pillage  of  Jerusalem  was  the  termination  of  SJii- 
shak’s  expedition,  and  the  sacred  books  make  no  more 
mention  of  this  warrior  king. 

Chronologists  have  sought  to  find  the  Shishak  of  the 
sacred  annals,  among  the  kings  of  Egypt  enumerated  in 
profane  history  ; but  most  of  their  labors  have  terminated 
in  vain  systems,  which  a sound  critic  would  disapprove. 
Marsham,  Jameson,  and  many  others  have  believed  him 
to  be  the  same  with  the  famous  Sesostris  or  Sethosis;  but 
this,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  was  going  too  many 
centuries  back.  Usher,  with  more  discretion,  but  without 
the  power  of  establishing  his  opinion  by  substantial  proofs, 
conjectured  that  Shishak  was  no  other  than  the  Sesonchis 
or  Sesonchosis  of  the  Greeks.  Desvignoles  and  the  editors 
of  the  Yence  Bible  have  admitted  this  opinion  as  extremely 
probable. 

In  many  of  his  works,  especially  in  his  Precis  * Cham- 
pollion  has  definitely  settled  this  question,  because  his 
opinion  is  established  by  hieroglyphic  legends  which  con- 
tain memorials  of  the  Pharaohs.  In  fact,  upon  one  of 
the  colonnades  which  adorn  the  first  court  of  the  palace 
of  Karnac  at  Thebes,  two  royal  legends  are  inscribed 
in  cartouches  ; the  first  expresses  the  surname  approved 
by  the  sun  \Amon-mai  Sheshonk]  ; the  second,  entirely 
phonetic,  reads  thus  UjcyHK»  dear  to 

Ammon , Sheshonk.  We  see  that  this  name,  which  is 
found  also  upon  many  other  monuments,  is  strictly  the 
same  with  that  of  Zéooy/iç  preserved  by  Manetho,  and 
differs  from  it  only  in  the  addition  of  a Greek  termina- 
tion. But  if  one  has  the  slightest  notion  of  the  particular 
genius  of  the  Shemitish  languages,  which  adhering  only  to 
the  skeletons  of  words,  that  is  to  say  to  the  consonants, 


Pages  255 — 257. 


119 


neglect  the  vowels  as  least  important,  he  will  then  be 
struck  with  the  analogy  of  the  Egyptian  name  UfcyuK 
( Sheslionk ) , to  that  of  the  Hebrew  written  (Shishak 
or  Sheshok).  Indeed,  one  cannot  but  perceive  their 
identity.  . 

A recent  discovery  made  by  Champollion  in  the  land 
of  Egypt  itself,  removes  all  doubt  upon  this  subject. 
We  transcribe  his  own  description.  “ In  the  wonderful 

palace  (that  of  Karnac ) I saw,  says  he,  Sesonchis 

dragging  at  the  feet  of  the  Theban  Trinity,  Ammon  and 
Mouth  and  Rons,  the  chiefs  of  more  than  thirty  van- 
quished nations,  among  which  I have  found,  written 
in  letters  at  full  length,  TOUDAHAMALEK,  the  king- 
dom of  the  Jews  or  of  Judah.  This  forms  a commentary 
upon  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  the  first  book  of  Kings, 
which  in  fact  relates  the  arrival  of  Sesonchis  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  his  success.  Thus  the  identity  we  have  estab- 
lished between  the  Egyptian  Sheshonk , the  Sesonchis  of 
Manetho,  and  the  Shishak  or  Sheshok  of  the  Bible,  is 
confirmed  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner.”* 

The  sacred  historian  informs  us,  that  the  irruption  of 
Shishak  into  Judea  took  place  in  the  fifth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Rehoboam,  which  corresponds,  according  to 
Usher,  with  the  year  791  before  our  era.  According  to 
the  calculations  of  Champollion  Figeac,  it  was  in  this 
same  year  791,  that  Sesonchis , chief  of  the  twenty-second 
dynasty,  mounted  the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs.  So  the 
commencement  of  his  reign  was  signalized  by  this  act 
of  hostility  against  the  kingdom  of  Judah;  and  the  dates, 
as  well  as  the  analogy  of  names  and  the  formal  testimony 
of  a monument,  justify  fully  the  opinion  of  Champollion 
on  this  subject. 


* See  the  7th  Letter  written  by  Champollion,  during  his  travels 
in  Egypt,  p.  35. 


120 


Among  the  monuments  which  belong  to  this  Pharaoh, 
Champollion  refers  to  a statue  with  the  head  of  a lion  in 
the  Royal  Museum  of  France,  another  statue  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  a scarabee  in  the  Turin  Museum.* 
The  two  last  monuments  are  remarkable  on  account  of 
the  name  of  the  prince  being  engraved  upon  them  ac- 
cording to  the  abbreviative  process,  of  which  we  have 
before  spoken.t  But  the  re-union  of  the  name  with  the 
surname  constantly  designating  Sheskonk,  leaves  no  doubt 
about  the  propriety  of  attributing  this  royal  cartouche 
to  him. 

2.  Some  years  later,  under  the  reign  of  the  young  son 
of  Rehoboam,  Scripture  points  out  in  another  sovereign 
of  Egypt  a formidable  adversary  of  the  people  of  God. 
This  prince  is  called  Zara  by  the  Vulgate,  Zaçé  by  the 
Greek  version,  and  Zagaïoç  by  the  historian  of  the  Jews 
(viii.  Antiq.  xii.  1).  He  is  named  Zerah,  rnt,  in  the 
original  text,  [and  Zerah  in  the  English  version.]  At 
the  head  of  an  immense  army,  he  made  war  upon  king 
Asa,  the  son  of  Abijah,  and  he  advanced  even  to  the  village 
of  Mareshah.  The  king  of  Judah  marched  out  to  meet 
him  with  forces  very  inferior  in  number,  ranged  them  in 
order  of  battle  in  the  valley  of  Zephathah,  and  under  the 
protection  of  the  Lord,  completely  routed  the  enemy,  and 
took  from  them  rich  spoils  (2  Chron.  xiv.  9 — 15). 

It  is  very  difficult  to  find  this  prince  in  the  memorials 
of  profane  history,  because  he  has  been  considered  as  one 
of  the  Ethiopian  kings, | about  whom  hardly  any  historical 
data  exist.  This  opinion  concerning  his  empire  is  found- 

* 2d  Letter  on  the  Turin  Museum,  pp.  120,  121. 

t Chapter  IV.  of  our  first  part,  p.  45. 

$ Scaliger  however  makes  him  a king  of  Egypt  ; but  he  seeks  him 
among  the  anonymous  kings  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty  (Can. 
Isag.  pp.  311 — 318).  In  this,  he  appears  to  wander  from  his  general 
system  of  chronology. 


121 


ed  upon  a false  interpretation  of  Scripture.  The  Chroni- 
cles give  to  his  name,  it  is  true,  the  qualification  of 
Ethiopian,  FHT,  Zara  Æthiops , as  it  reads  in  the 

Hebrew  and  in  the  Vulgate.  Reference  is  frequently 
made  to  the  Ethiopians  of  his  army  ; but  Scripture  no 
where  declares  that  he  was  an  Ethiopian  king.  We 
willingly  admit,  however,  that  his  domination  extended 
over  this  country  ; a circumstance  which  explains  the 
prodigious  force  of  his  army,  which  Scripture  makes 
amount  to  a million  of  men  (C’Dlrtt  mille  millium). 
Like  Shishak,  he  must  have  called  to  his  army  the  various 
nations  of  his  vast  empire,  and  Scripture  gives  us  reason 
to  suppose  that  Ethiopia  formed  one  portion  of  it,  but  it 
appears  certain  that  this  Ethiopian , whether  he  was  so  by 
birth  (which  is  not  unlikely),  or  whether  he  took  the 
surname  as  a title  of  conquest,  was  a sovereign  of  power- 
ful Egypt. 

Who  is  this  Pharaoh,  and  in  what  dynasty  must  we 
look  for  him  ? Mr.  Salt,  the  zealous  explorer  of  Egyptian 
antiquities,  has  found  in  a royal  cartouche  traced  upon 
the  walls  of  the  ruins  near  Mount  Sinai,  a name  which 
he  transcribes  by  the  Greek  letters  22EPA  and  which 
he  presumes  to  be  that  of  Zerah  in  the  sacred  books,  the 
double  2,  according  to  him,  being  employed  to  represent 
Z*  But  the  conjecture  of  the  learned  Englishman  ap- 
pears to  us  a little  hazardous,  and  the  import  of  the  sign 
which  he  supposed  to  be  the  second  2 may  be  subject 
to  some  dispute.  Champollion  has  been  much  more 
fortunate,  as  we  conceive. 

In  a hieroglyphic  legend  upon  the  same  colonnades  where 
he  found  the  name  of  Sesostris,  he  observed  the  name 

* See  Essay  upon  the  system  of  phonetic  hieroglyphics , by 
Henry  Salt,  translated  into  French  by  Devère.  Nancy,  1827,  in  8vo 
(p.  50,  note  5,  and  plate  iv.  23). 

11 


122 


of  another  king  thus  inscribed  ^VjLINJJLcM  OcpKH 
or  Ocptfn  , dear  to  Ammon , Osorchon  or  Osorgon. 
This  Pharaoh  was  the  son  and  successor  of  Sesonchis 
(Sheshonk),  as  is  proved  by  Manetho,  who  with  great 
probability  calls  him  ’ Oaôç/wv,  a name  which  the  copyists 
or  abbreviators  have  improperly  confounded  with  that  of 
5 Oorôçdœr  or  ’ Ooôgdwç*  It  is  in  this  Pharaoh  Osorchon , 
second  king  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty,  that  of  the 
BubastiteSf  that  we  recognize  (with  Champollion)  the 
Ethiopian  of  the  sacred  historians.  If  we  take  from  the 


monumental  name  OcPSCH  ^ts  Egyptian  termination, 
and  abstract  its  vowels,  it  will  exactly  correspond  with 
the  name  fHT  in  the  Hebrew  text.  The  identity  of  these 
two  names,  which  was  already  conjectured  by  Desvig- 
noles,f  is  then  established  by  the  monuments.  The  col- 
lation of  dates  furnishes  equally  strong  proof  of  the  fact. 

Without  resuming  the  date  from  Menophres  which  we 
have  previously  adopted,  let  us  now  reckon  only  from  the 
invasion  of  Shis  hah } which  took  place  in  the  fifth  year  of 
Rehoboam.  The  son  of  Solomon  reigned  17  years,  that 
is  to  say  12  years  more  after  the  check  which  he  received 
in  battle.  By  adding  to  this  number  the  reign  of  Abijah, 
his  son  and  successor,  which  continued  3 years,  the 
15  first  years  also  of  the  reign  of  Asa,  because  the  battle 
of  Mareshah  is  placed  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  this  prince, 
and  by  subtracting  30  years  the  sum  total  of  the  ad- 
dition from  971,  the  date  of  Shishak’s  expedition,  the 
defeat  of  Zerah  will  then  be  found  to  have  taken  place 
about  the  year  941  before  the  Christian  era.  Manetho, 


* Précis  du  Syst.  hiéroglyphique,  pp.  257 — 262.  Many  monu- 
ments, among  the  rest  two  papyri  published  by  Denon,  have  enabled 
Champollion  to  discover  two  other  personages  of  this  family,  named 
also  Osorchon  and  Sheshonk. 
t Chronologie  de  V Histone  Sainte , tom.  n.  p.  126. 


123 


as  we  learn  from  his  abbreviators,  did  not  attempt  to  de- 
termine the  duration  of  the  reigns  of  Sheshonk  and  Osor- 
chon.  But  as  Eusebius  gives  to  those  of  the  three  first 
Pharaohs  of  this  dynasty  the  total  duration  of  49  years, 
we  may  with  great  probability  divide  this  number  of  years 
equally  between  them  ; and  if  only  thirty  be  given  to  the 
two  first,  the  calculation  will  make  Osor chon’s  reign  en- 
dure until  941  before  our  era,  which  is  the  fifteenth  year 
of  Asa  king  of  Judah. 

In  concluding  our  remarks  about  Osorchon  or  Zerah, 
we  must  notice  for  the  information  of  the  curious,  any 
monuments  which  bear  his  name.  There  is  a large  vase 
of  eastern  alabaster  which  was  consecrated  by  this  prince 
to  God , sovereign  of  the  regions  of  the  world , Ammon- 
Rê,  as  its  hieroglyphic  inscription  reads.  It  was  after  a 
while  transported  to  Rome,  and  it  became  an  urn  to  con- 
tain the  ashes  of  a member  of  the  Claudian  family,  whose 
Latin  epitaph  is  inscribed  upon  the  middle  of  the  vase  and 
opposite  to  the  Egyptian  legend.  This  beautiful  monu- 
ment, and  eloquent  testimony  of  human  vicissitudes,  is 
now  in  the  Royal  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  and  the  dis- 
covery of  Champollion  has  revealed  the  striking  contrast  of 
inscriptions  which  it  presents.* 

3.  About  two  centuries  after  the  victory  obtained  by 
Asa  over  Zerah , a new  king  of  Egypt  appears,  who  is  cal- 
led in  the  Vulgate  Sua.  The  Hebrew  gives  him  the 
name  of  tfio,  which  is  commonly  read  So.  This  reading 
will  be  perceived  to  be  very  important  ; since  we  find  in 
the  Latin  Version,  Sua,  and  also  Seoua,  Seoue , Seva  and 
Seve.  The  Septuagint  calls  it  2 cad  or  2yy(og;  and  Jo- 
sephus (ix.  Antiq.  xiv.  1),  2 wet  or  2 wav.  This  prince  is 
not  very  conspicuous  in  the  Scriptures.  All  that  we  learn 
of  him  is,  that  Hoshea  king  of  Israel,  wishing  to  throw  off 

* Précis  du  Syst.  hiérogl.  pp.  257 — 263. 


124 


the  yoke  which  Shalmaneser  king  of  the  Assyrians  had 
imposed  upon  him,  sent  ambassadors  to  So  king  of  Egypt, 
doubtless  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting  assistance  against 
his  vanquisher  (2  Kings  xvii.  1 — 4).  It  does  not  ap- 
pear that  Pharaoh  had  the  inclination  or  power  to  give 
him  aid  ; at  least  the  sacred  books  make  no  mention  of 
any,  in  narrating  the  war  which  king  Shalmaneser  imme- 
diately waged  against  Hoshea,  and  which  terminated  in 
the  seizure  of  Samaria  and  in  the  captivity  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel  (2  Kings  xvii.  4 — 6). 

Usher  and  Marsham  believe  that  this  prince  is  no  other 
than  the  Sabbacon  of  Herodotus,  a chief  of  the  twenty-fifth 
dynasty  of  Manetho,  whom  the  Pharaoh  of  Scripture  seems 
to  resemble  somewhat  in  name.  But  as  Pezron,  Desvig- 
noles,  and  Champollion  think,  he  is  much  more  probably 
the  same  with  Seveclius  the  son  of  this  Pharaoh.  It 
being  possible  to  read  the  name  which  the  Hebrew  text 
gives  to  So,  either  Seva  or  Seve,  as  we  have  observed,  if 
we  give  to  *j  the  sound  of  our  V (as  many  grammarians 
do),  it  is  more  analogous  with  the  name  of  Sevechns,  than 
with  Sabbacon  his  father  ; and  the  date  of  his  reign  ap- 
proaches much  nearer  the  period  fixed  by  chronologists  of 
the  Bible,  to  the  reign  of  Hoshea,  and  to  the  events  which 
furnish  an  occasion  for  the  sacred  writer  to  make  mention 
of  Pharaoh  So. 

Champollion  has  read  upon  many  monuments  a royal 
name  which  may  be  rendered  by  Scvekoteph,  and  which 
he  considers  the  same  with  Sevechus.*  Mr.  Salt  has  also 
found  it  at  Abydos;  but  he  translates  it  Sabbacon.f  The 

* Aperçu  des  résultats  historiques,  p.  14.  Champollion  has  also 
found  the  hieroglyphic  name  of  Sabbacon,  which  he  reads  Shabak  ; 
his  surname  is  read  upon  many  small  monuments  in  the  museum  of 
Charles  X. 

t Essai  sur  le  Système  des  hiéroglyphes  phonétiques,  p.  50, 
and  plate  iv.  24. 


125 


museum  of  Charles  X.  contains  two  scarabées  with  the 
name  of  Sevcchus . 

4.  At  a period  somewhat  later  than  the  days  of  Hoshea 
king  of  Israel,  and  of  So  or  Sev  échus  of  whom  we  have 
been  speaking,  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah  king  of  Judah,  the  sacred  writers  introduce  a 
new  Pharaoh,  who  likewise  interposes  in  the  affairs  of  the 
people  of  God.  He  bears  in  the  Vulgate  and  Hebrew 
text  the  name  of  Tharaca , iiprpn  ; the  Septuagint 
version  also  calls  him  Ouqcr/.d  ; but  Josephus  (x.  Antiq. 
i.  4)  names  him  OaQcnxrjç-  [in  the  English  text  he  is 
called  Tirhakah.\  Scripture  informs  us  that  Sennache- 
rib, king  of  Assyria,  having  entered  with  his  army  into 
the  kingdom  of  Judah,  and  having  taken  possession  of 
many  villages,  sent  one  of  his  generals  by  name  Rab- 
shakeh  as  envoy  to  Hezekiah,*  to  demand  from  him  sub- 
mission and  the  surrender  of  Jerusalem  (2  Kings  xviii. 
17 — 37).  The  king  of  Judah,  agitated  by  the  insolence 
and  blasphemies  of  this  envoy,  knew  not  what  to  answer  ; 
but  being  determined  by  the  counsels  of  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  he  sent  him  back  to  his  master  with  a formal 
refusal  (2  Kings  xix.  1 — 8.  Isaiah  xxxvi.  xxxvii.  1 — 8). 
Sennacherib  being  apprised  that  Tirhakah  king  of  Ethio- 
pia advanced  upon  him  to  give  him  battle,  made  ready 
to  march  against  this  ally  of  the  Jews  (2  Kings  xix.  9. 
Isaiah  xxxvii.  9)  ; when  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  on  tfie 
following  night,  smote  the  army  of  the  Assyrian  king, 
caused  a hundred  and  fourscore  and  five  thousand  men  to 
perish,  and  forced  him  to  retreat  (2  Kings  xix.  35 — 37. 


* This  name,  written  in  Hebrew  is  perhaps  only  a sur- 

name or  a title  of  office.  The  word  signifying  great,  master,  ov 
chief,  and  he  has  given  to  drink;  from  this  is  formed  îipujfà 

cup-bearer,  may  then  designate  the  grand  cup-bearer,  or 

the  chief  of  cup-bearers. 

11* 


126 


Isaiah  xxxvii.  36 — 38).  The  second  book  of  Chroni- 
cles which  relates  these  facts  more  succinctly  (xxxii. 
1 — 21),  does  not  mention  Tirhakah;  but  perhaps  the 
prophet  Isaiah  had  him  in  view  in  his  chapters  xviii.  and 
xx.  After  this  period,  no  more  is  seen  of  him  in  sacred 
history,  and  we  are  ignorant  what  were  afterwards  his 
relations  with  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 

This  prince  appears  to  be  the  same  whom  Strabo  calls 
Teaçitô,  with  the  qualification  of  Ethiopian , and  whom 
he  describes  as  pushing  his  conquests  even  into  Europe 
(i.  p.  90  ; xv.  p.  978,  edit.  Oxon.  1807). 

Although  the  Bible  entitles  him  king  of  Ethiopia,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  he  reigned  as  sovereign  of  Egypt 
over  this  country,  which  we  have  already  seen  united 
with  Egypt  under  many  other  Pharaohs.  The  conformity 
of  names  seems  also  to  establish  his  identity  with  Tarcus 
or  Taracus , third  king  of  the  twenty-fifth  dynasty  of 
Manetho  ; who  in  fact  calls  him  an  Ethiopian.  Such 
was  the  opinion  of  many  chronologists  ; and  it  is  also 
that  of  Champollion,  who  has  read  his  name 
( Tardk ) upon  many  monuments.*  Mr.  Salt  has  likewise 
found  the  name  upon  various  edifices  in  Egypt  and  in 
Ethiopia,!  and  the  surname  of  this  prince  is  also  read 
upon  a scarabee  belonging  to  the  museum  of  Charles  X. 

We  must  be  permitted  here  to  relate  a fact  which  is 
frequently  cited.  It  is  related  by  Herodotus  (n.  141),  and 
it  appears  to  us  to  be  only  an  alteration  of  the  Scripture 
narrative.  He  says  that  when  Sethon  or  Scthosis,  priest 
of  Vulcan  (the  Plita  of  the  Egyptians),  was  making  war 
upon  Sennacherib,  king  of  the  Assyrians  and  Arabians, 
and  while  he  occupied  the  environs  of  Pelusium , a multi- 

* Aperçu  des  résultats  historiques,  etc.  p.  14. 

t Essai  sur  le  Système  des  hiéroglyphes  phonétiques,  plate  iv. 
26—29. 


127 


tude  of  rats  spread  themselves  throughout  the  camp  of  the 
enemy,  and  devoured,  during  the  night,  the  quivers,  the 
strings  of  the  bows,  and  the  leather  of  the  bucklers;  and 
that  this  extraordinary  intervention  obliged  the  Assyrian 
army  to  flee,  with  the  loss  of  the  greatest  part  of  their 
soldiery.  This  narrative,  it  must  have  already  been  re- 
marked, is,  in  the  main,  that  of  the  sacred  books.  As 
related  by  Herodotus,  the  Egyptian  priests  have  made 
their  own  nation  most  conspicuous,  named  their  god 
Phta  instead  of  the  true  God,  and  represented  the  arms 
as  rendered  incapable  of  being  employed,  instead  of  de- 
scribing the  immediate  destruction  of  those  who  bore 
them.  This  is  a remarkable  testimony  in  favor  of  the 
veracity  of  our  sacred  books,  and  it  is  not  the  only  one 
furnished  by  profane  antiquity. 

5.  Scripture  gives  a much  more  full  account  about  the 
Pharaoh,  called  irDD  Necho  by  the  Hebrew  text,  Nechao 
by  the  Vulgate,  and  Ne/aé  by  the  Septuagint  and  by 
Josephus,  [and  Necho  by  the  English  version.]  Some  of 
the  details  would  lead  to  very  interesting  discussions,  in 
which  our  subject  prevents  us  from  engaging  ; we  must 
confine  ourselves  to  an  epitome  of  facts. 

When  this  Egyptian  king  advanced  to  attack  the  king 
of  Assyria,  Josiah,  king  of  Judah,  who  could  not  behold 
without  fear  a large  army  penetrating  into  his  empire, 
advanced  to  meet  him,  and  notwithstanding  the  pacific 
protestations  of  Pharaoh,  who  even  alleged  the  commands 
of  the  Lord,  he  entered  into  combat  with  him  near  Ma- 
giddo  ; but  the  king  of  Judah,  wounded  by  an  arrow,  was 
overthrown,  and  he  died  soon  after  (2  Kings  xxiii.  29,  30. 
2 Chron.  xxxv.  20 — 24).  Either  because  the  eldest  son 
of  Josiah  was  at  the  battle  of  Magiddo  and  was  accounted 
slain,  or  because  the  younger  son  was  preferred  at  all 
events,  the  people  on  learning  the  death  of  their  king, 


.128 


placed  Jehoaliaz,  who  was  twenty-three  years  old,  upon 
the  throne,  instead  of  his  brother  who  was  aged  twenty- 
five  (2  Kings  xxiii.  30.  2 Chron.  xxxvi.  1).  Three 
months  after,  Necho  repaired  this  injustice,  by  giving  the 
crown  to  the  lawful  sovereign  Eliakim  or  Jehoiakim , upon 
whom  he  imposed  an  annual  tribute  ; and  then  he  return- 
ed to  his  own  empire,  taking  with  him  Jehoahaz  whom 
he  retained  prisoner,  and  who  died  in  Egypt  (2  Kings 
xxiii.  33,  34.  2 Chron.  xxxvi.  2 — 5). 

The  sacred  historians  do  not  inform  us  wrhat  was  the 
issue  of  this  first  expedition  of  Necho  against  Assyria  ; but 
four  years  later  we  again  see  this  prince  making  war  upon 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  advancing  upon  the  Euphrates  as 
far  as  Carchemish,  where  he  experienced  a complete 
overthrow  ( Jerem . xlvi.  2).  The  Assyrian  monarch  push- 
ing his  success,  took  possession  of  all  the  countries  situa- 
ted between  the  Euphrates  and  Egypt,  and  Necho  was 
confined  within  the  limits  of  his  own  empire  (2  Kings 
xxiv.  7).  We  shall  see  shortly,  wrhat  a deluge  of  evils 
flowed  over  Egypt  under  the  successors  of  this  prince. 

The  reign  of  Necho  is  more  easy  to  distinguish  than 
those  which  had  preceded  ; and  the  documents  of  Egyp- 
tian and  profane  history  which,  about  this  period,  become 
more  positive  and  numerous,  as  well  as  the  complete 
identity  of  their  names,  compel  us  to  recognize  the  Pha- 
raoh Necho  of  Scripture,  in  the  Necho  II.  of  historians, 
the  son  and  successor  of  Psammcticus.  Herodotus  gives 
some  account  of  him  under  the  appellation  of  JVexoyç 
(ii.  158,  159).  He  informs  us  that  this  prince  undertook 
a canal,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  Pelusiac  branch  of 
the  Nile  with  the  Arabian  gulf  ; a canal  to  which  Diodo- 
rus Siculus  also  refers  (i.  33),  and  which  was  continued 
under  the  Persian  domination,  and  completed  under  the 
Ptolemies.  Herodotus  speaks  likewise  of  the  numerous 


129 


fleet  of  this  king,  and  narrates  his  war  in  Judea.  The  fol- 
lowing sentence  of  the  Greek  historian  is  from  Larcher’s 
translation  ; “ He  engaged  in  a battle  by  land  also  against 
the  Syrians  near  Magdolum,*  and  after  having  obtained 
the  victory,  he  took  Cadytis,  a considerable  city  of  Syria.” 
Herodotus  makes  no  mention  of  the  expedition  upon  the 
Euphrates  ; about  which  the  Egyptian  priests  are  equally 
silent  with  foreign  historians,  because  it  reflected  little 
honor  upon  the  monarch  or  upon  their  nation. 

The  conqueror  of  Josiah  is  then  very  certainly  the 
Pharaoh  Necho  II.,  sixth  king  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty. 
Manetho,  as  well  as  Herodotus,  places  him  between  his 
father  Psammeticus  and  Psamenis  his  son,  and  both  give 
to  his  reign  a duration  of  16  years.  Champollion  has  read 
his  name  upon  many  stelœ  or  statues.  He  attributes  these 
monuments  to  Necho  II.  of  the  Egyptian  lists,  in  whom 
he  recognizes  the  Necho  of  holy  writ.f 

6.  The  last  Pharaoh  mentioned  in  the  sacred  books, 
is  perhaps  more  often  alluded  to  than  any  other,  although 
his  name  appears  only  once  ( Jerem.  xiv.  30)  ; but  he  is 
plainly  enough  designated  by  other  circumstances.  He  is 
called  ssnsh  by  the  Hebrew  text,  OvacpQi]  by  the  Septua- 
gint,  Ephree  by  the  Vulgate,  [ Hoylira  by  the  English  ;] 
and  these  names,  though  differently  articulated,  have  still 
among  themselves  a strong  analogy.  Scripture  gives  us 
the  following  account  of  him. 

In  the  time  of  Zedekiah  king  of  Judah,  the  Chaldeans 
besieged  Jerusalem.  The  army  of  Pharaoh  went  out  from 
Egypt  to  succour  the  beleaguered  city,  and  the  enemy,  learn- 
ing this  fact,  hastened  to  raise  the  siege  (Jerem.  xxxvii.  4). 

* We  see  that  Herodotus,  who  knew  Egypt  a little  better  than 
Judea,  has  put  Magdolum  a city  of  Lower  Egypt,  for  Magiddo  a 
city  of  Judea;  so  also  he  has  confounded  the  Hebrews  with  the 
Syrians.  These  errors  are  very  naturally  explained. 

t Jlperçu  des  résultats  historiques , etc.  p.  13. 


130 


According  to  Josephus  (x.  Antiq.  vii.  3),  the  Chaldeans 
drove  away  the  Egyptians  and  renewed  the  siege  of  Jeru- 
salem, with  their  king  Nebuchadnezzar  at  their  head.  An 
account  of  this  siege,  which  terminated  so  destructively  to 
the  Jews,  is  foreign  to  our  subject  ; it  is  given  in  Scripture 
(2  Kings  xxv.  2 Chron.  xxxvi.  17 — 21.  Jerem.  xxxix.). 
Prophets  had  threatened  the  greatest  evils  to  Egypt,  and 
to  those  who  put  their  trust  in  her.  But  notwithstanding 
their  menacing  oracles,  a party  of  Jews  who  had  been  left 
in  Palestine  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  fled  into  the  kingdom 
of  Ephree  or  Hophra,  taking  with  them  Jeremiah,  who, 
when  he  had  arrived  at  Tahpanhes , announced  a new 
invasion  of  Egypt  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  all  the  evils  it 
would  bring  in  its  train  (Jerem.  xlii.  xliii.  xliv.).  These 
menaces  were  not  tardy  in  being  accomplished.  Josephus 
informs  us  (x.  Antiq.  ix.  7),  that  five  years  after  the 
taking  of  Jerusalem,  Nebuchadnezzar,  having  made  nu- 
merous conquests  in  Ccelesyria  and  in  the  neighboring 
countries,  took  possession  also  of  Egypt,  and  led  away 
captive  the  Jews  who  had  gone  there  to  seek  an  asylum. 
We  will  shortly  give  other  details  from  Herodotus  ; let  us 
now  return  to  Ephree  or  Hophra. 

All  chronologists  agree  that  this  Pharaoh  can  be  no 
other  than  the  king  named  "Angt^ç  by  Herodotus;  and  it 
is  very  certain  that  this  name  is  nearly  identical  with  the 
names  of  Scripture,  and  particularly  with  that  of  Ova(pg7jçJ 
who  is  made  the  seventh  king  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty 
by  Syncellus  and  by  Eusebius.  Aptries,  according  to  Hero- 
dotus, was  very  successful  during  a great  part  of  his  reign, 
but  at  last  fortune  ceased  to  favor  him.  Having  marched 
an  army  against  the  Cyreneans,  he  received  a considerable 
check.  The  Egyptians  imputed  their  misfortune  to  him, 
and  his  indignant  troops  openly  revolted.  The  king  sent 
Amasis  an  officer  as  envoy  to  them,  to  induce  them  to  re- 


131 


turn  to  their  duty  ; but  instead  of  submitting,  they  pro- 
claimed king  the  envoy  of  Apries ; and  this  new  king, 
having  Egypt  and  the  army  in  his  favor,  marched  against 
his  sovereign  who  was  assisted  only  by  foreign  auxiliaries. 
Apries  was  persuaded  that  the  gods  themselves  would  not 
be  able  to  dethrone  him,  so  great  was  his  confidence  in  the 
firmness  of  his  power.* * * §  Amasis  however  vanquished  him, 
and  retained  him  imprisoned  in  his  own  palace;  soon 
after,  yielding  to  the  importunity  and  to  the  reproaches  of 
the  people,  he  gave  him  into  the  hands  of  the  Egyptians, 
who  destroyed  himf  after  a reign  of  25  years  ( Herodot , 
iv.  161 — 169).  This  Greek  historian  gives  no  more 
account  than  Diodorus,  about  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by 
Nebuchadnezzar;  and  his  silence  cannot  but  appear 
astonishing.  Wesseling  attributes  it  to  the  concealment, 
by  the  Egyptian  priests,  of  an  event  so  little  honorable 
to  their  nation. £ Perhaps  it  is  better  explained  by  the 
remark  of  Larcher, § that  Herodotus  did  not  write  a com- 
plete history  of  Egypt,  and  that  his  plan  being  (as  he 
announces  in  the  beginning  of  his  first  book)  principally 
to  describe  the  increase  and  power  of  the  Persians  who 
were  engaged  in  long  and  bloody  wars  with  the  Greeks, 
his  work  really  is  not,  in  relation  to  Egypt,  but  a succinct 
and  immethodical  extract,  in  which  many  important  events 
are  omitted. 

Champollion  admits,  with  all  chronologists,  the  identity 

* It  is  perhaps  to  Hophra  that  a prophet  addresses  the  words  al- 
ready cited,  and  which  are  so  appropriate  to  his  pride  ; Behold,  I am 
against  thee,  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt,  the  great  dragon  that  lieth 
in  the  midst  of  his  rivers,  which  hath  said,  My  river  is  mine  own , 
and  I have  made  it  for  myself  (Ezekiel  xxix.  31). 

t In  a passage  before  indicated,  Josephus  says  he  was  put  to  death 
by  Nebuchadnezzar. 

X JYote  to  his  edition  of  Diodorus,  p.  79,  ad  lin.  93. 

§ History  by  Herodotus,  transi,  by  Larcher,  2d  edit.  tom.  ii.  not. 
564. 


132 


of  the  Scripture  Pharaoh  HopTiro , with  the  Apries  of 
Herodotus,  and  with  the  Vaplire  of  Manetho’s  abbrevia- 
tors.  He  has  found  his  hieroglyphic  name  in  legends 
upon  the  obelisk  della  Minerva, , at  Rome,  and  in  those 
which  cover  some  portions  of  the  edifices  of  Philœ .* 

The  reader  will  have  remarked,  that  in  what  we  have 
said  concerning  the  four  last  Pharaohs,  we  have  neglected 
the  method  we  had  previously  followed  of  collating  the 
dates  of  biblical  chronology  and  those  which  have  been 
deduced  from  the  lists  of  Manetho.  The  want  of  positive 
chronological  documents  about  the  epochs  of  these  last 
princes,  has  obliged  us  to  abstain  from  such  collations. 
The  sacred  books  are  sufficiently  precise  in  some  of  the 
events  which  we  have  cited,  and  the  indications  which 
they  give  enable  chronologists  of  the  Bible  to  class  them 
in  their  systems.  Such  is  not  the  case  in  the  chronology 
of  the  last  Egyptian  dynasties.  The  striking  differences 
between  Julius  Africanus  and  Eusebius,  concerning  the 
number  of  kings  belonging  to  these  dynasties,  and  the 
total  or  individual  duration  of  their  reigns,  ought  to  be 
explained  by  illustrations  from  the  monuments  and  by  the 
discussion  of  critics.  Such  an  undertaking  does  not  be- 
long to  us  ; it  devolves  upon  the  Champollions,  whose 
future  labors  in  this  department  promise  satisfactory  re- 
sults.f  But  whatever  their  success  may  be,  the  striking 
conformity  we  have  remarked,  between  the  names  of  the 
Scripture  Pharaohs  and  those  of  the  Egyptian  annalists 
or  of  the  monuments,  is  sufficient  to  give  entire  certainty 
to  our  synchronisms  ; and  we  believe  that  the  results  con- 

* Aperçu  des  résultats  historiques , etc.  p.  14. 

t The  3d  Letter  upon  the  Turin  Museum  describes  the  monu- 
ments which  belong  to  the  last  dynasties;  and  the  Chronological  No- 
tice of  Champollion  Figeac,  will  doubtless  disengage  the  duration  and 
dates  of  the  reigns  from  the  confusion  in  which  they  are  now  in- 
volved. 


133 


tained  in  this  chapter  are  no  more  conjectural  in  their 
character,  than  some  of  the  first  which  we  have  noticed. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ON  THE  CHRONOLOGY  OF  MANETHO. 

Of  Manetho  and  his  tablet  of  the  kings  of  Egypt.  Of  the  confidence  which 
he  deserves.  Is  his  chronology  opposed  to  that  of  the  Bible  ? Probable 
chronological  limits  of  the  Egyptian  monuments. 

Champollion  Figeac,  as  we  have  seen,  has  followed  the 
chronological  lists  of  Manetho,  which  have  been  confirm- 
ed by  each  new  discovery  upon  the  monuments.  We 
cannot  refuse  the  evidence  of  the  results  obtained  by  this 
learned  man,  and  we  have  adopted  in  this  work  the  chro- 
nological system  which  he  has  built  upon  the  agreement 
of  the  monuments  and  the  data  of  the  Egyptian  annalist. 
This  fact  furnishes  a motive  for  us  to  add  here  a few  criti- 
cal observations  upon  Manetho,  upon  his  writings,  and 
upon  the  degree  of  confidence  which  he  merits. 

1.  The  Egyptian  Manetho,  a native  of  Sebennytus, 
flourished  about  the  middle  of  the  third  century  before  our 
era,  under  the  reign  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  that  illus- 
trious prince  who  caused  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews  to 
be  translated  into  Greek.  He  was  a priest  of  Heliopolis, 
and  kept  the  sacred  books  of  Egypt  ; offices  which  were 
of  high  importance,  and  which  placed  at  his  disposal  an 
immense  number  of  historic  materials.  We  can  regard 
him  also  as  belonging  to  the  celebrated  school  of  Alexan- 
dria, which  has  shed  so  much  splendor  upon  the  reign  of 
12 


134 


the  Lagidæ  kings,  its  founders.*  He  wrote  in  Greek 
many  treatises  on  astronomical,  or  rather  on  astrological 
and  historical  subjects,  hardly  any  of  which  have  come 
down  to  us.  Doubtless  his  most  important  work,  that  the 
loss  of  which  has  occasioned  the  deepest  regret,  was  a 
universal  history  of  Egypt  in  three  volumes  or  parts. 
He  had  composed  it  from  the  memorials  found  in  the  ar- 
chives of  the  temples,  and  had  dedicated  it  to  the  king 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus.  Sextus  Julius,  surnamed  Africa - 
nus, f at  a later  period  inserted  Manetho’s  history  in  his 
Chronography , an  important  work  which  is  also  lost. 
We  do  not  now  possess  the  great  work  of  the  Egyptian 
annalist  ; we  have  only  a small  number  of  historic  frag- 
ments which  were  preserved  by  Josephus,  by  Eusebius, 
and  by  some  other  ecclesiastical  writers,  and  also  the  lists 
of  the  royal  dynasties  of  Egypt,  which  are  found  in  Syn- 
cellus,!  just  as  they  are  described  by  Julius  Africanus 
and  by  Eusebius,  who  only  abbreviated  them.  These 
isolated  fragments  and  this  sterile  series  of  lists  of  Egyp- 
tian kings,  leave  indeed  much  to  be  desired  ; but  they  are 

* When  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  spread  itself  in  Egypt,  this 
illustrious  academy,  or  rather  a new  Christian  school  which  was 
formed  in  its  bosom,  acquired  additional  honors  by  furnishing  the 
Church  with  many  distinguished  scholars,  such  as  Pantcenus,  Cle- 
ment his  disciple  to  whom  was  added  the  title  of  Alexandria,  Athe- 
nagoras , Origen,  etc. 

t Julius  Africanus  lived  under  Heliogabalus,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  third  century,  and  he  dwelt  in  Palestine  ; he  embraced  the 
Christian  faith,  and  was  ordained  a priest.  The  learned  Photius 
speaks  in  commendation  of  his  Chronography. 

+ Georges,  surnamed  Syncellus  from  the  office  which  he  discharg- 
ed under  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  flourished  about  the  eighth 
century.  His  Chronography , which  unfortunately  bears  the  im- 
pression of  this  period  of  decay,  was  printed  at  the  Louvre,  in  fol. 
in  1552,  under  the  superintendence  of  P.  Goar,  a learned  Dominican, 
who  united  with  it  a preface  and  notes.  This  volume  forms  a part 
of  the  Byzantine  collection. 


135 


the  only  remains  of  the  national  history  of  Egypt  ; and 
notwithstanding  their  paucity,  they  offer  precious  resour- 
ces of  learning,  as  we  think  we  have  shown  in  our  pre- 
vious investigations.  For  a more  ample  account  of  Ma- 
netho  and  his  writings  we  refer  our  readers  to  the  learned 
Fabricius,*  and  to  the  interesting  work  of  M.  Matter  upon 
the  celebrated  school  of  the  Ptolemies. f Let  us  now 
examine  how  far  confidence  may  be  reposed  in  the  chro- 
nological data  of  the  Egyptian  historian. 

2.  Manetho  has  indeed  been  contradicted  by  some  his- 
torians. Among  these  Josephus  is  the  most  ancient,  who 
often  corrects  errors  which  the  bad  faith  or  ignorance  of 
Manetho  led  him  to  commit  in  relation  to  the  Jews — a 
people  whose  position  being  in  a manner  isolated  amidst 
other  nations,  prevented  the  writers  of  antiquity  from 
studying  and  sufficiently  knowing  them.  Josephus  has 
been  followed  by  certain  ecclesiastical  writers,  and  by  a 
great  number  of  modern  historians.  But  he  is  not  always 
just,  and  he  often  combats  narratives,  simply  because  they 
are  at  variance  with  his  favorite  system  concerning  the 
identity  of  the  Hebrews  with  the  usurping  dynasty  of  the 
Shepherds.  Modern  chronologists  who  have  abandoned 
Manetho  with  disdain,  have  been  influenced  almost  solely, 
by  difficulties  attending  the  numerous  dynasties  of  Egyp- 
tian sovereigns,  which  they  could  not  reconcile  with  any 
acknowledged  system  of  chronology,  because  they  con- 
strued too  literally  the  narrative  of  the  historian  in  ques- 
tion. 

This  man  however,  whose  judgment  or  good  faith  some 
more  recent  writers  have  wished  to  impeach,  has  given 
proofs  of  a judicious  criticism,  by  rectifying,  in  a special 
work,  the  errors  of  the  Greek  historian  Herodotus,  so  far 

* Bibliotheca  Grceca,  tom.  n.  p.  494. 

t Essai  historique  sur  V école  d’Alexandrie,  tom.  i.  p.  108. 


136 


as  we  can  judge  from  the  testimony  of  Eustathius.  Jose- 
phus, whom  no  one  would  suppose  too  partial  to  him,  else- 
where praises  his  exactness  and  his  fidelity.  Julius  Afri- 
canus  judged  his  history  worthy  of  credit,  since  he  intro- 
duced it  into  his  Chronography , which  is  so  often  cited 
with  commendation  by  the  fathers  and  ecclesiastical  wri- 
ters of  the  first  ages.  Eusebius  and  Syncellus,  though  at 
times  they  abandon  and  combat  him,  have  founded  the 
whole  of  their  Egyptian  chronology  upon  that  of  Manetho. 
It  seems  to  us  that  such  evidence  from  ancient  writers  is 
of  some  weight  in  a question  of  this  nature.  We  ought  to 
add  that  many  modern  chronologists  have  followed  Mane- 
tho with  success  in  the  solution  of  embarrassing  difficul- 
ties ; and  especially  Champollion  Figeac,  who,  with  his 
aid,  first  disentangled  the  confused  chaos  of  Egyptian 
chronology.  Finally,  the  reader  has  seen  that  proofs  the 
most  positive,  such  as  the  monuments,  the  manuscripts,  the 
Pharaonic  legends,  the  table  of  Abydos,  etc.,  have  hitherto 
fully  justified  the  chronology  of  the  priest  of  Heliopolis, 
and  tend  to  give  him,  in  every  impartial  mind,  a part  at 
least  of  the  confidence  which  he  enjoyed  during  the  first 
ages  of  the  church,  and  of  which  we  think  he  was  unjustly 
deprived  at  a later  period. 

Many  have  not  yet  sufficiently  understood  the  situation  of 
Manetho.  The  official  historiographer  of  Egypt  (for  he 
wrote  by  the  orders  of  his  sovereign  and  from  originals  in 
the  archives  of  the  temples),  would  of  course  digest  his 
history  according  to  national  doctrines  which  were  in 
some  manner  connected  with  religion  ; and  as  a neces- 
sary result  of  this  obligation,  his  history  of  primitive  times 
would  be  blended  with  false  traditions,  which  however 
had  become  dogmas  among  the  Egyptians.  Such  not 
only  are  the  gods  and  demigods  which  the  old  chronicles 
assign  to  the  predecessors  of  Menes,  and  to  which  Manetho 


137 


had  very  probably  given  a place  in  his  chronology,  but 
also  a portion  of  the  first  dynasties  of  men  whose  existence 
was  far  from  being  certain  until  about  the  sixteenth  epoch. 
We  must  then  distinguish  in  the  chronicles  which  he  has 
left,  two  very  different  parts,  although  it  may  not  be  easy 
to  assign  strict  limits  to  each  : one  part  consisting  of  true 
history,  which  traces  the  Greek  and  Persian  dynasties  in 
epochs  known  from  other  data,  by  means  of  historians  or  of 
monuments  ; another  part  fabulous,  or  enveloped  in  the 
obscurity  which  shrouds  the  infancy  of  every  nation,  and 
which  extends  back  beyond  the  sixteenth  dynasty,  the 
last  dynasty  of  whose  existence  we  have  any  certain 
traces. 

This  obscurity  of  primitive  times,  and  the  fables  which 
compose  most  of  its  history,  are  not  peculiar  to  the  annals 
of  ancient  Egypt.  Ignorance,  a love  of  the  marvellous, 
and  national  pride  have  given  them  a place  in  other  his- 
tories. Thus  the  public  registers  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
in  relation  to  primitive  times,  are  dark  and  full  of  contro- 
verted facts.  Thus  in  our  own  history  ; leaving  out  of 
account  the  perplexities  which  attend  the  parallel  or  suc- 
cessive reigns  of  kings  belonging  to  the  first  race,  have  we 
not  heard  our  illustrious  descent  from  a supposed  Francus , 
a grandchild  of  Priam,  seriously  maintained?  Have  we 
not  seen  the  chronicles  of  archbishop  Turpin,  and  the 
romantic  exploits  of  Charlemagne  and  his  twelve  Peers, 
who  cut  in  twain  giants,  pass  more  than  once  for  historic 
documents?  And  finally,  ought  not  our  annals  down  to 
the  epoch  of  the  revival  of  letters,  or  to  the  period  which 
immediately  precedes  it,  notwithstanding  the  progress  of 
criticism, — ought  they  not  to  be  purged  of  many  ridiculous 
anecdotes,  which  are  of  no  use  except  to  poets  and  writers 
of  romance  ? 

We  should  not  then  pass  too  severe  judgment  upon 
12* 


138 


Manetho  for  the  use  he  has  made  of  uncertain  traditions, 
or  of  those  evidently  fabulous,  which  were  in  a manner 
thrust  upon  his  notice  by  his  nation  and  by  his  caste.  It 
is  due  in  justice  to  acknowledge,  that  such  aberrations  do 
not,  as  some  critics  have  pretended,  destroy  all  confidence 
in  his  account  of  those  epochs  which  he  was  competent  to 
describe  ; neither,  in  like  manner,  do  the  fables  related 
by  Herodotus  on  the  credit  of  foreign  testimony,  impeach 
his  veracity  as  to  other  parts  of  his  history  ; nor  the  story 
of  the  razor  of  Accius  Naevius  and  similar  traditions,  de- 
tract from  the  reputation  of  Livy  as  a grave  historian, 
when  he  describes  those  epochs  about  which  authentic 
memorials  have  given  him,  as  it  were,  the  authority  of  a 
cotemporaneous  witness.* 

It  is  then  entirely  useless  to  recur  for  a verification  of 
Manetho  to  the  system  of  parallel  dynasties,  wThich  existed 
at  the  same  period  over  different  parts  of  Egypt  ; a system 
which  explains  nothing,  and  which  would  be  a great  incon- 
venience by  rendering  every  thing  arbitrary,  because  there 
are  no  data  in  the  lists  of  the  Egyptian  historiographer 
to  indicate  cotemporaneous  dynasties.  No  one  doubts, 
indeed,  that  if  such  had  been  the  object  of  Manetho, 
he  could  not  have  designated  these  dynasties  by  another 
method  of  classification  ; and  the  numeral  order  which  he 
has  followed  is,  on  the  contrary,  a very  strong  objection  to 
such  a method.  Besides,  all  who  have  adopted  the  sys- 

* Here  perhaps  would  be  the  place  to  speak  of  the  Canon  of  The- 
ban kings  by  Eratosthenes,  a learned  Greek  mathematician  who 
lived  a few  years  after  Manetho,  and  who  wras  the  librarian  of  the 
first  Ptolemy  Euergetes.  A discussion  on  this  subject  would  carry 
us  too  far.  We  would  simply  observe,  that  this  isolated  fragment,  in 
its  present  state  of  mutilation,  can  be  but  a very  weak  assistance  in 
helping  us  to  understand  the  chronology  of  Egypt.  Time  would  be 
lost  in  commenting  upon  it,  and  in  no  case  would  any  one  think  of 
opposing  it  to  the  coherent  system  of  dynasties  by  Manetho,  with 
which  it  seems  to  have  no  connection. 


139 


tem,  content  themselves  with  simply  assuming  it,  without 
taking  the  trouble  to  arrange  the  materials  preserved  by 
Manetho,  in  a manner  conformable  to  the  intentions  which 
they  attribute  to  him.  We  have  seen  that  the  system  can- 
not apply  to  dynasties  after  the  sixteenth,  which  are  found 
complete  in  their  successive  order  ; and  in  relation  to 
those  which  precede , and  which  do  not  fall  within  the 
province  of  history,  any  one  is  free  to  think  as  he  pleases. 

3.  There  is  another  objection  to  Manetho  of  a different 
kind,  which  if  well  founded  would  impair  his  authority  in 
the  view  of  religious  men.  It  is  one  that  in  a work  like 
ours  must  be  examined  seriously.  The  succession  of  Pha- 
raonic dynasties  by  Manetho,  on  account  of  the  exaggera- 
ted antiquity  given  to  his  nation,  has  been  often  represented 
as  opposed  to  the  chronology  of  the  sacred  books,  and  fears 
have  been  cherished  that  his  system  might  become  a very 
dangerous  one,  when  made  use  of  by  writers  who  are  hos- 
tile to  revealed  religion.  It  must  be  agreed  that  the  strange 
abuse  which  his  system  received  from  some  unbelieving 
men  of  the  last  century,  and  the  little  attention  paid  to  it 
by  the  defenders  of  revelation,  have  contributed  to  give  a 
singular  currency  to  the  foregoing  opinion.  But  in  our 
own  age,  an  age  more  decided  than  the  preceding,  we 
do  not  blindly  adopt  the  superficial  assertions  of  Voltaire, 
whose  authority  in  all  matters  of  erudition  has  been  re- 
duced to  its  just  weight.  To  form  a judgment  then,  we 
must  examine  in  itself  the  chronology  of  the  Egyptian 
annalist,  who,  besides  the  intrinsic  evidence  of  his  system, 
has  in  his  favor  the  weighty  testimony  of  the  ecclesiastical 
writers  to  whom  we  have  referred. 

The  distinction  we  have  already  taken  in  respect  to  the 
chronicles  of  Manetho,  between  a properly  historical  period 
and  fabulous  or  dark  ages,  furnishes  a sufficient  answerto 
the  objection  we  are  here  discussing.  In  fact,  what  we 


140 


know  of  Egyptian  history,  hardly  extends  farther  back 
than  the  time  of  Abraham,  and  terminates  also  with  the 
epoch  of  this  patriarch,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  synchro- 
nism related  by  Eusebius,  which  we  have  previously  cited.* 
Now  in  the  period  between  this  epoch  and  the  deluge,  we 
can  still  find  the  places  of  a large  number  of  dynasties. 
The  Hebrew  text  and  the  Vulgate,  it  is  true,  give  to  this 
second  age  of  the  world  only  a duration  of  367  years  ; but 
the  Samaritan  text  gives  to  it  1017,  and  the  Septuagint 
1147.  It  is  known  that  neither  of  these  three  chronolo- 
gies is  to  be  considered  as  strictly  true,  and  the  Church 
has  left  with  each  individual  entire  liberty  to  choose  which 
he  prefers. f But  there  are  reasons  why  the  preference 
should  be  given  to  the  Septuagint  version  on  account  of 
its  chronological  relations.  It  is  more  ancient  and  is  made 
after  a more  correct  text  than  any  which  we  possess,  as  is 
proved  by  Eusebius  ; and  especially,  it  is  more  favorable 
to  historic  synchronisms  with  the  annals  of  ancient  nations. 
Besides,  it  is  sanctioned  by  the  authority  of  the  first  Fa- 
thers of  the  Church,  who  have  all  made  use  of  this  version 
and  of  its  chronology. | By  adopting  this  chronology,  all 
the  difficulties  in  the  table  of  Egyptian  dynasties  by  Ma- 


* See  Chap.  III.  of  this  second  part,  p.  90. 

t We  cannot  too  frequently  remember,  that  the  Church  in  adopting 
the  Vulgate  version  did  not  design  to  weaken  the  authority  of  the 
original  texts,  nor  of  the  ancient  versions  ; but  it  proposed  simply  to 
give  a version  in  a language  more  generally  spread,  which  was,  if 
not  always  exact  and  perfect  as  possible,  at  least  generally  faithful, 
exempt  from  all  errors  in  regard  to  faith,  in  a word,  a version  which 
might  be  read  inoffenso  pede,  in  the  language  of  the  schools.  So  the 
discussion  and  collation  of  versions  and  texts,  which  form  the  object 
of  sacred  criticism,  has  been  conformed  to  the  spirit  of  the  Church, 
and  has  in  all  ages  occupied  the  most  holy  as  well  as  the  most  learn- 
ed men. 

t One  can  consult  on  this  subject,  a work  of  Father  Pezron,  enti- 
tled, V antiquité  des  terns  rétablie  et  défendue  contre  les  Juifs  et 
les  nouveaux  chronologistes  (Paris,  1687,  in  4to).  The  learned 


141 


netho  will  vanish  ; of  these  the  first  dynasties  only,  deprived 
of  all  historic  support,  will  be  very  naturally  classed  with 
fabulous  facts  ; as  the  reigns  of  the  gods,  of  the  demigods, 
of  Hcpliaistos , etc.  But  though  one  should  not  be  willing 
to  adopt  it,  it  nevertheless  remains  true  that  the  chronology 
of  Manetho  (when  properly  understood),  will  not  pass  be- 
yond limits  admitted  in  biblical  chronology.  [See  App.  R.] 
4.  Finally  (protesting,  if  we  may  so  speak,  against  any 
abuse  of  Manetho’s  fragments),  we  may  add,  that  there 
is  no  real  ground  to  fear  such  abuse.  There  is  reason  to 
think,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  monuments  which  have 
confirmed  that  part  of  Manetho’s  authority  which  was  con- 
tested, will  not  allow  of  any  application  whatever  to  the 
first  periods  of  his  history.  The  Champollions  find  that 
the  Pharaonic  legends  do  not  extend  back  in  a satisfactory 
manner  beyond  the  seventeenth  dynasty  ; and  it  is  im- 
probable that  any  thing  can  be  found  to  illustrate  com- 
pletely the  sixteenth  and  those  which  precede.* *  A very 
satisfactory  reason  is  assigned  for  this  by  a fact  which 
Manetho  relates,  and  which  is  cited  by  Josephus  ( Cont. 
Ap.  i.  14).  The  tyrannical  reign  of  the  dynasty  of  Hylc - 
shos  or  Shepherds,  which  violently  succeeded  the  sixteenth 
dynasty,  is  characterized  by  devastations,  which  made 
Egypt  a field  of  desolation  and  ruin.  These  usurping 
strangers,  who  were,  like  all  barbarians,  the  enemies  of 
civilization  and  of  the  arts,  destroyed  cities  and  pverthrew 
especially  all  the  public  monuments  and  the  temples  of 
the  gods.  No  edifices  built  by  the  earlier  dynasties  were 
suffered  to  exist.  A few  ruins  only  remained,  which  were 
used  merely  as  materials  in  the  edifices  of  the  following 

father  of  the  Oratory  supposes,  and  not  without  probability,  that  the 
Hebrew  text,  as  we  have  it,  was  altered  by  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  the 
emperor  Hadrian,  on  account  of  the  interest  they  had,  by  shortening 
the  two  first  ages,  to  prove  that  Jesus  Christ  was  not  the  Messiah. 

* 2d  Letter  on  the  Turin  Museum , pp.  8 et  seq. 


142 


acre,  especially  in  those  of  Karnac,  and  which  evidently 
bear  marks  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  style.  But  the  small 
number  of  these  precious  remains,  and  their  state  of  muti- 
lation, forbid  the  hope  of  finding  upon  them  any  important 
historic  information  ; and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  chronology  of  Manetho,  deprived  of  support  from  the 
most  ancient  monuments,  will  always  remain  very  uncer- 
tain in  regard  to  whatever  concerns  the  origin  and  early 
periods  of  the  Egyptian  monarchy. 

From  the  remarks  which  we  have  communicated  to  our 
readers,  we  infer  that  there  is  no  foundation  for  that  fear 
about  the  advance  of  Egyptian  studies,  which  the  religious 
zeal  of  some  estimable  men  has  led  them  to  cherish  ; 
neither  is  there  any  occasion  to  distrust  the  data  trans- 
mitted by  the  historian  of  the  Pharaohs.  Nothing  can 
authorize  such  a distrust.  On  the  other  hand,  every  thing 
conspires  to  prove,  at  the  present  time,  that  the  new  dis- 
coveries and  their  application  to  chronology,  will  disclose 
more  and  more  the  truth  and  exactness  of  the  historic 
facts  in  Scripture.  We  believe  that  men  are  too  apt  to 
form  a judgment  of  systems  when  they  hardly  understand 
them  ; and  perhaps  they  are  too  prone  to  forget  that  if  true 
faith  is  timorous,  it  is  not  distrustful,  like  the  pride  which 
is  connected  with  the  vain  theories  of  men;  because  it 
views  the  basis,  upon  which  the  august  edifice  of  divine 
revelation  reposes,  as  immoveable.  Inspired  with  this 
thought,  we  have  adopted,  from  entire  conviction,  all  the 
satisfactory  results  elicited  by  the  labors  of  the  Champol- 
lions  ; and  we  wait,  with  impatience  and  with  confidence, 
the  new  developments  which  they  promise,  persuaded 
beforehand  that  revealed  religion  cannot  but  gain  from 
them. 

We  here  terminate  this  digression.  Perhaps  it  has  been 
tedious;  but  it  seemed  to  us  a necessary  appendix  to 


143 


our  chronological  observations.  We  shall  now  renew  our 
former  labor,  and  attempt  new  applications  of  Egyptian 
writings  to  the  defence  and  interpretation  of  the  sacred 
books. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GEOGRAPHICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

Egyptian  name  of  the  city  of  Heliopolis.  City  of  Rameses.  Land  of 
Rameses.  Advantages  to  sacred  learning  from  researches  in  the  country 
of  Goshen.  City  of  Taphnis.  City  called  in  the  Hebrew  text  No- 
Amon,  etc. 

The  intimate  connection  of  the  history  of  the  people 
of  God  with  that  of  Egypt,  renders  the  geography  of  the 
ancient  land  of  Mizraim * very  important  to  sacred  criti- 
cism. No  one  can  doubt,  but  that  the  multiplied  and 
daily  increasing  means  for  the  study  of  ancient  Egypt, 
must  exert  much  influence  upon  this  part  of  historic 
science,  and  add  to  the  fruits  of  geographical  labor. 
Already  even,  many  facts  which  have  been  brought  to 
light  by  the  new  discoveries,  when  connected  with  certain 
passages  of  the  Bible,  furnish  new  data  on  some  parts  of 

* It  is  by  this  name  that  Egypt  is  usually  designated  in  the  text 
of  the  Old  Testament  Its  probable  derivation  is  from  the 

son  of  Ham,  who  is  called  in  the  Vulgate  Mesraim,  the  Hebrew 
name  of  which  is  written  like  that  of  Egypt.  In  the  Coptic  language 

this  country  is  usually  called  Xhjuu  (Hemi),  and  this  name  in 
which  may  be  found  that  of  the  second  son  of  Noah,  relates  to  the 
expression  Eft  yftî*  land  of  Ham,  which  is  applied  sometimes  in 
Scripture  to  Egypt  (Psalms  civ.  23,  27  ; cv.  22,  et  alibi). 


144 


the  biblical  geography  of  Egypt,  or  afford  new  support  to 
certain  opinions  of  critics,  which  heretofore  could  only 
be  regarded  in  the  light  of  simple  conjectures.  It  will 
be  our  object  to  make  applications  of  this  kind  in  the 
present  chapter. 

1.  In  the  narrative  of  the  marriage  of  Joseph,  and  of 
the  priesthood  of  his  father-in-law  (Gen.  xli.  45),  men- 
tion is  made  of  an  Egyptian  city,  which  is  called  in  the 
Vulgate,  Heliopolis.  The  Septuagint  in  this  passage 
uses  the  same  denomination,  cHXiov  nohg,  which  signi- 
fies city  of  the  Sun  ; a name  given  to  it  likewise  by  the 
profane  writers  of  antiquity.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  this  name,  which  is  entirely  Grecian,  passed  from 
the  Alexandrine  version  into  the  Vulgate.  But  it  could 
not  be  found  in  the  original  text,  because  it  was  not  until 
many  centuries  after  Moses,  under  the  domination  of  the 
Grecian  kings  who  were  the  successors  of  Alexander, 
that  Egypt  beheld  the  primitive  names  of  all  its  cities 
exchanged  for  new  names  given  them,  which  were  bor- 
rowed from  the  language  of  the  conquerors.  The  He- 
brew gives  to  the  city  of  Heliopolis  the  name  of  On , 
which  is  written  in  two  different  ways,  ‘ji*  or  “ptf.  The 
same  name  "Slv^  is  adopted  in  another  passage  of  the 
Septuagint  Version  (Exodus  i.  11),  where  it  is  enumera- 
ted among  the  treasure-cities  built  by  the  children  of 
Israel.  But  this  is  an  addition  to  the  Hebrew  text 
which  is  not  found  in  the  Vulgate,  but  w^hich  the  Coptic 
version  adopts  in  preserving  the  name  UJn 

We  can  very  easily  perceive  in  this  name  as  preserved 
by  Moses,  and  of  which  the  Hebrew  does  not  indicate 
the  signification,  the  old  Egyptian  name  of  the  city  now 
in  question  ; and  we  may  suppose  with  much  probability 
that  the  name  city  of  the  Sun,  which  wTas  afterwards 
given  it  by  the  Greeks,  was  but  a literal  translation 


145 


of  this  primitive  denomination.  It  was  substituted  with 
a knowledge  of  its  meaning,  in  a version  which  (having 
been  executed  according  to  the  orders  of  the  king,  and 
by  men  who  possessed  so  extensive  means  of  being  ac- 
quainted with  Egypt),  seemed  to  promise  much  correct- 
ness in  this  kind  of  details.  Such  a conjecture  is  sup- 
ported by  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah.  In 
a passage  which  has  been  generally  understood  as  relating 
to  the  city  of  Heliopolis  (xliii.  13),  he  calls  it  rG,  an 
expression  which  the  Vulgate  renders  literally  by  domus 
solis,  house  of  the  sun,  thus  proving  in  our  view,  the 
antiquity  of  this  significant  name.  Champollion  says 
concerning  the  city  of  Heliopolis  ; “ It  is  always  designa- 
ted in  Coptic  writings  by  the  word  UJn  On , which  the 
Hebrew  texts  write  In  the  Coptic  version  of  the 

Old  Testament,  Heliopolis  is  constantly  called  UJn  or 

UJn  the  city  of  On , or  sometimes.  On 

which  is  the  city  of  the  Sun . This  last  passage  seems 
to  indicate,  that  in  the  Egyptian  language  QUI  signifies 
sun  ; and  St.  Cyrill,  in  his  commentary  upon  Hosea,  as- 
sures us  that  " Slv  ôé  ’ftm  xut’  avrovg  6 rjfaoç , On  signi- 
fies the  sun  among  the  Egyptians.  There  is  in  fact  no 
doubt  that  the  word  Clin  has  close  and  striking  rela- 
tions with  the  Egyptian  roots  OTtUn  to  open,  to  make 

clear,  OYCIUHE  light,  and  OTCUH^  to  appear,  to 
show  itself,  to  manifest  itself* 

These  conjectures  (if  so  they  must  still  be  called), 
which  originated  chiefly  with  the  learned  Jablonski,f 

* See  L'Égypte  sous  les  Pharaons  (tom.  n.  p.  41)  ; a work  which 
we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  cite. 

t See  his  Pantheon  Ægyptiacum  (part  i.  p.  137),  and  his  Opus - 
cula  (tom.  i.  p.  184),  a treasure  of  learning,  which  is  very  important 
on  many  accounts  in  the  study  of  ancient  Egypt. 

13 


146 


are  now  confirmed  by  a fact  we  have  already  related^ 


viz.  the  discovery  of  the  Egyptian  name 


( Pctephre ),  which  Champollion  found  upon  a funereal 
manuscript  belonging  to  M.  Calliaud.  Whoever  may  be 
the  personage  of  ancient  Egypt  to  whom  this  monument 
is  consecrated,  it  is  certain  that  it  exhibits  the  well  known 
name  of  the  Egyptian  father  of  Asenath  and  the  father- 
in-law  of  the  patriarch  Joseph,  who  is  called  in  the  Sep- 
tuagint  and  Coptic  versions  UsTecpgri , 

the  orthography  of  each  of  these  translations  being  strictly 
identical  with  that  of  the  papyrus.  We  are  informed 
in  Gen.  xli.  45,  that  this  Pctephre  or  Putiphare  as  he 
is  called  in  the  Vulgate  [i.  e.  Potiphar],  was  the  priest  of 
On , Heliopolis , or  the  city  of  the  Sun.  Now  the  ele- 
ments of  this  Egyptian  name,  formed  by  a grammatical 
analysis,  signify  literally,  he  ivho  is,  or  who  belongs  to 
Phre  or  Re,  i.  e.  the  sun.  No  more  appropriate  name, 
then,  could  be  assigned  to  a man  who  was  clothed  with 
the  priesthood  of  this  divinity  ; and  we  may  suppose  it 
was  given  him  as  indicative  of  his  functions,  or  at  least 
of  his  special  devotedness  to  the  deified  sun.  At  all 
events,  the  striking  analogy  between  the  name  of  the 
priest  and  of  the  god,  must  convince  us  that  the  name 
of  given  by  the  Hebrew  text  to  the  city  where 

Potiphar  exercised  his  priesthood,  is  truly  the  primitive 
name  of  this  ancient  Egyptian  city,  and  that  the  authors 
of  the  Greek  and  Latin  versions  have  rendered  correctly 
in  adopting  the  more  modern  Greek  name  cHXiov  nôhç, 
i.  e.  city  of  the  Sun* 

2.  Among  the  labors  to  which  the  Hebrews  were  sub- 

* Jablonsld  reasons  in  a very  similar  manner  ( Opusc.  tom.  i.  p. 
203)  ; but  Champollion  has  fortified  his  opinion  by  the  authority  of  a 
monument. 


147 


jécted  under  the  oppressive  reign  of  Pharaoh  (Ameno- 
phis),  who  wished  to  make  them  less  formidable  by 
weakening  their  numbers,  Scripture  enumerates  the  build- 
ing of  the  cities  of  Pithom  and  Raamses  or  Rameses  ; 
fins-nfi}  (Exod.  i.  11). 

We  should  wander  from  our  subject,  if  we  devoted 
much  time  to  an  examination  of  the  first  of  these  cities. 
We  simply  remark  that  the  Septuagint  calls  it  TL,6ü\u} 

the  Coptic  Tiro  cun  and  likewise  Ilwuin,  He- 
rodotus  and  Stephanus  of  Byzantium  ndxovpoç,  and  Cal- 
met  believes  it  to  be  the  same  city  that  the  Paturni 
mentioned  by  Pliny  inhabited  ; an  opinion  which  is  in- 
volved in  much  difficulty.  We  add  also,  that  d’ An  ville* 
and  Champolliont  find  it  in  the  place  called  Tlioum  by 
the  Itinerary  of  Antoninus. 

The  city  of  Rameses  has  a more  important  bearing 
upon  the  subject  which  now  occupies  us,  and  its  well 
determined  position  will  serve,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  to 
decide  a question  which  is  of  high  interest,  especially  at 
the  present  time.  The  sacred  books  mention  this  city 
in  various  other  passages  than  that  above  referred  to, 
viz.  in  Exod.  xii.  37.  Num.  xxxiii.  3.  The  Greek  ver- 
sion of  the  book  of  Judith,  which  is  more  extended  than 
the  Vulgate  version  and  perhaps  more  conformed  to 
the  original  Chaldaic,f  names  this  city  (c PapEoarj),  as 
also  many  others  which  the  Vulgate  has  not  noticed, 
among  the  nations  who  resisted  the  demands  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar king  of  Assyria  (Judith  i.  9).  Pliny  speaks 
of  a people  called  Ramisi  (vi.  28),  and  Calmet  admits 

* Memoirs  sur  V Égypte,  p.  118. 
t L?  Égypte  sous  les  Pharaons,  tom.  n.  p.  58. 
t Jerome  himself  3eems  to  authorize  this  opinion,  when  he  avows, 
in  his  preface  to  Judith,  the  liberty  he  has  taken  in  translating  this 
book  ; rather  translating  the  sense  from  the  sense  than  words 
from  words. 


148 


the  identity  of  the  name  with  the  inhabitants  of  Raineses. 
This  view  of  the  subject  we  cannot  now  discuss.  But 
k is  impossible  not  to  recognize  the  ancient  Raineses 
of  the  Pharaohs,  in  a small  village  now  called  Ramsis , 
a denomination  that  differs  a little  from  that  given  in 
Scripture,  and  which  in  the  Egyptian  language  appears 

to  have  been  written  P&JttCHC.  This  village,  which 
has  been  visited  by  many  travellers,*  still  contains  the 
ruins  of  the  old  city  upon  the  borders  of  a canal  which 
conducts  the  waters  of  the  Nile  into  lake  Mareotis.  It 
is  situated  about  two  leagues  and  a half  northwest  from  a 
town  called  Eshlime  by  d’  Anville  in  his  chart  of  Modern 
Egypt*  an(t  AshlimeJi  by  the  Arabians  ; it  makes  a part  of 
lower  eastern  Egypt,  without  the  Delta.  [See  App.  S.] 

In  his  Egypt  under  the  Pharaohs , Champollion  de- 
scribes the  Rameses  of  Scripture  as  the  Ramsis  of  the 
Arabians.  But  at  the  time  of  this  publication  (in  1814), 
he  simply  observes  with  respect  to  its  denomination  ; 
“ The  signification  of  this  name  is  unknown.”!  We 
think  that  his  own  discoveries  will  enable  him  now  to  give 
a very  probable  explanation  of  the  reasons  why  the  name 
was  given  to  this  city.  Indeed,  we  have  seen  that  Pha- 
raoh the  oppressor  of  the  Hebrews,  he  who  obliged  them 
to  construct  the  cities  mentioned  in  Exodus , if  he  was  not 
the  second  of  the  Achencheres , whose  father  is  named 
Ramses  in  the  hieroglyphic  legends,  must  have  been  the 
king  who  is  called  by  historians  and  by  the  monuments 
Rameses  or  Ramses  Meiamoun.  Now  this  name  is  strictly 
the  same  with  that  of  the  city  mentioned  in  Scripture,  as 
Champollion  has  observed  and  this  conformity,  far  from 

* Niebuhr,  Voyage  en  Arabie,  tom.  i.  p.  78  : Sonnini,  Voyage 
en  Égypte , tom.  n.  pp.  146  and  147. 

t Égypte  sous  les  Pharaons,  tom,  n.  p.  248. 

t Précis  du  Syst.  hierogl.  p.  276. 


1 49 


being  purely  fortuitous,  seems  to  reveal  a very  plain  and 
plausible  fact,  viz.  that  Pharaoh,  the  founder  of  Rameses, 
must  have  given  to  this  city  either  his  own  name  (if  we 
recognize  this  prince  in  Mciamoun) , or  that  of  his  father, 
if  we  choose  to  attribute  the  name  to  Achencheres  Man - 
douei.  Such  a custom,  which  we  observe  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  as  well  as  among  modern  nations,  is 
too  flattering  to  the  pride  of  man,  not  to  be  found  existing 
in  the  highest  antiquity  ; and  the  sacred  books  furnish 
examples  of  this  usage,  anterior  to  the  period  of  the 
eighteenth  Egyptian  dynasty. 

3.  Still  farther  application  of  the  name  Pharaoh  Ram- 
ses can  be  made.  Besides  the  texts  already  noticed,  in 
which  mention  is  made  of  the  city  of  Ramescs  or  Raam- 
ses , this  name  had  been  indicated  in  a preceding  book  of 
Scripture,  and  the  place  upon  which  it  was  bestowed  is  de- 
signated as  making  part  of  the  country  where  Joseph,  ac- 
cording to  the  orders  of  Pharaoh,  had  established  his 
father  and  brothers  when  they  came  down  to  Egypt.  Jo- 
sephus verb,  says  the  Vulgate  version,  patri  et  fratribus  suis 
dédit  posessionem  in  Ægypto,  in  optimo  terræ  loco  Ra- 
mescs; i.  e.  and  Joseph  gave  his  father  and  brethren  a pos- 
session in  the  land  of  Egypt , in  the  best  of  the  land , in 
the  land  of  Rameses  ( Gen.  xlvii.  11).  The  Hebrew 
reads  ; fnfiO  ynfijrt  Stitts  in  the  best  of  the 

land , in  the  land  of  Rameses.  But  at  that  time  the  city 
of  Rameses  did  not  exist  ; it  was  built  more  than  a centu- 
ry after  this  epoch,  and  this  difficulty  has  given  rise  to  a 
question  about  which  critics  are  divided.  Most  consider 
the  passage  in  Genesis,  as  an  indication  of  the  place 
where  the  city  of  Rameses  was  afterwards  built.  Some,  who 
construe  the  passage  literally,  regard  the  land  of  Rame- 
ses as  a very  different  place  from  that  where  the  city  was 
built  in  succeeding  times  by  the  children  of  Israel. 
13* 


150 


Among  this  number  is  the  learned  Jablonski,  who  at- 
tempts to  prove  the  existence  of  two  distinct  cities  which 
bear  the  name  of  Rameses . He  labors  to  discover  the 
etymology  of  this  name,  and  concludes  that  it  is  found  in 
a word,  which  in  composition  expresses  the  abundance  of 
pasturage  in  the  country  inhabited  by  Jacob.  This  is  the 

word  Polity  HIC,  which  he  forms  from  PcUlAÏ  man, 

and  UJuic  shepherds  ; which  literally  signify  men-shep - 
herds,  and  in  a figurative  manner,  as  he  says,  the  dwel- 
ling of  shepherds  * 

Much  might  be  said  in  regard  to  the  grammatical  and 
philological  difficulties  which  occur  in  this  explanation, f 
and  in  regard  to  the  details  which  Jablonski  gives  to  sup- 
port the  distinction  of  two  cities  by  the  name  of  Rameses. 
We  cannot  stop  here  to  discuss  them  at  length  ; but  to 
his  etymology,  which  will  appear  forced  to  all  our  readers, 
and  of  which  the  analogy  may  be  merely  fortuitous,  we 
shall  oppose  an  explanation  less  learned,  but  more  simple, 
more  natural,  and  more  consistent  with  the  orthography 
of  the  text  which  we  have  already  given.  We  have  al- 
ready shown  that  the  name  of  Rameses  belonged  to  an 
Egyptian  monarch,  and  that  it  was  given  by  himself  or  by 
his  son  to  the  place  mentioned  in  the  passages  cited  from 
Scripture.  Now  since  it  is  proved  by  the  chronological 
canon  of  Egyptian  kings,  that  at  the  epoch  of  Joseph,  no 
one  of  the  Pharaohs  had  yet  borne  the  name  of  Rameses, J 

* See  Opusc.  tom.  n.  pp.  136,  137. 

t Jablonski  appears  here,  and  elsewhere,  inclined  to  apply  to  the 
Israelites  what  historians  have  informed  us  concerning  the  Hyk-shos 
or  Shepherds.  But  this  opinion,  which  would  confound  the  people 
of  God  with  a horde  of  brigands,  is  now  generally  disapproved,  al- 
though Josephus,  led  into  a mistake  by  his  national  pride,  has  sought 
to  establish  it  in  many  portions  of  his  writings. 

t The  first  king  of  Egypt  who  bore  the  name  of  Rameses  appeal's 
to  have  been  the  eleventh  king  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  ; he  is  so 
designated  by  the  monuments,  but  the  fragments  of  Manetho  call  him 
Ratholis  or  Athoris. 


151 


it  is  a necessary  consequence  that  in  designating  by  this 
name  the  country  where  Jacob  and  his  family  dwelt,  ref- 
erence was  made  in  Genesis  by  anticipation,  to  the  place 
where  in  succeeding  times  a city  should  be  built  of  this 
name.  Since  this  interpretation,  far  from  presenting  any 
anachronism  or  absurd  opinion,  is  on  the  contrary  very 
reasonable  and  perfectly  admissible,  it  is  sufficient  to 
prove  that  the  city  of  Rameses,  which  was  not  built  in  the 
time  of  the  patriarch  Joseph,  must  have  existed  when 
Moses  commenced  writing  the  Pentateuch  ; for  then  he 
might  have  named  it,  even  in  relating  facts  anterior  to  its 
construction.  Profane  writers,  as  well  as  the  writers  of 
Scripture,  furnish  very  many  examples  of  similar  designa- 
tions. Now,  as  has  been  observed,  we  are  informed  in 
Exodus  that  this  city  was  built  about  the  time  when  the 
legislator  of  the  Hebrews  was  born. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  support  the  opinion  of  critics 
that  there  is  but  one  Rameses  described  in  Scripture,  and 
to  authorize  a translation  of  the  passage  in  Genesis , like 
that  given  by  Father  Carrière.  He  is  not  perhaps  au- 
thority in  matters  of  erudition,  but  his  brief  paraphrases 
inserted  in  the  text,  are  generally  founded  upon  opinions 
of  the  best  commentators.  He  has  thus  rendered  the  pas- 
sage in  question  ; Joseph  . . . placed  his  father  and  breth- 
ren in  possession  of  the  place , where  was  afterwards  built 
the  city  of  Rameses. 

4.  Our  discussion  leads  us  naturally,  and  in  a manner 
necessarily,  to  speak  of  the  country  which  the  children  of 
Jacob  inhabited,  and  which  is  called  in  Scripture,  Goshen , 
1$$,  ready  (Gen.  xlvii.  1,  4,  6,  27,  et  alibi).  The 
reader  will  allow  us  a brief  digression  here,  on  a point 
which  has  at  least  some  connection  with  our  subject. 
We  know  that  learned  men  have  discussed  at  great  length 
the  situation  of  this  country,  and  that  different  systems 


152 


have  been  framed  in  order  to  determine  it.*  It  is  not  our 
intention  to  follow  in  this  difficult  path,  and  to  discuss 
here  the  greater  or  less  probability  of  these  various  theo- 
ries. We  shall  merely  show  that  the  geographical  deter- 
mination of  the  habitation  of  the  Hebrews,  follows  as  a 
consequence  of  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  in- 
vestigations ; that  is  to  say,  if  our  remarks  about  the  land 
of  Rameses  are  admitted  as  true,  then  we  must  assent  to 
the  opinion  held  by  many  learned  men,  who  regard  the 
city  of  this  name  as  a part  of  the  land  of  Goshen. 

In  fact,  the  Rameses  of  Genesis  was  the  place  where 
Jacob  and  his  children  sojourned.  It  is  designated  as 
the  most  fertile  portion  of  Egypt,  the  best  of  the  land 
( Gen.  xlvii.  11).  It  is  that  portion  of  country,  which  is 
elsewhere  called  in  Scripture  the  land  of  Goshen  ( Gen. 
xlvii.  6).  Rameses , moreover,  is  twice  named  as  the 
point  of  departure  of  the  Israelites,  when  they  directed 
themselves  towards  Succoth , to  go  out  from  Egypt  ( Exod. 
xii.  37.  Num.  xxxiii.  3)  ; and  in  the  same  manner,  if 
one  would  explain  the  successive  stations  of  the  Israelitish 
camp,  reference  must  be  made  back  to  the  land  from 
which  they  went  out.f  Jablonski  himself  admits  this 
consequence,  and  he  has  a special  chapter  entitled,  con- 
cerning the  land  of  Ramses , which  teas  Goshen  itself. \ 
But  he  avoids  the  application  by  distinguishing,  as  we 
have  remarked,  two  places  called  by  the  name  of  Rameses . 

We  believe  that  we  have  already  sufficiently  exposed 

* An  explanation  of  the  principal  systems  on  this  subject  can  be 
found  in  the  first  dissertation  of  Jablonski,  De  terrâ  Gosen,  Opusc. 
tom.  n.  pp.  77 — 90. 

t We  do  not  pretend  that  the  habitation  of  the  Hebrews  was  al- 
ways confined  to  the  land  of  Goshen.  It  must  have  extended  as  the 
people  increased.  But  Goshen  seems  to  have  been  the  centre,  and 
the  principle  abode,  during  the  time  of  Moses  ( Exod.  viii.  22  ; ix. 
26). 

{ Opusc.  tom.  ii.  p.  136. 


153 


this  opinion  ; and  if  his  two  Raineses,  instead  of  being 
different,  are  one  and  the  same  ; if  in  the  passage  before 
cited  from  Genesis,  reference  is  made  by  anticipation  to 
the  city  which  bears  this  name;  it  follows  necessarily  that 
Rameses  was  situated  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  And  since 
it  is  found  in  the  present  village  of  Ramsis,  we  think  it 
possible,  by  means  of  this  precious  datum,  to  determine 
very  nearly  the  part  of  Egypt  where  Jacob  and  his  family 
dwelt,  one  important  point  of  it  being  now  known. 

Perhaps  the  brevity  with  which  we  have  discussed  this 
topic,  has  prevented  a satisfactory  exhibition  of  the  above 
result  to  our  readers.  It  doubtless  does  demand  more  full 
development  than  the  limits  of  our  Essay  will  permit  us  to 
make  ; but  the  probabilities  to  which  we  have  alluded,  will, 
if  we  are  not  deceived,  make  this  part  of  Egypt  worthy  the 
special  attention  of  travellers  who  go  to  explore  the  ancient 
land  of  the  Pharaohs.  It  seems  to  us  that  a well  conduct- 
ed examination  of  the  environs  of  Ramsis,  will  furnish 
results  as  important  to  religion  as  to  science.  When  one 
reflects  that  the  children  of  Israel  dwelt  for  more  than  two 
centuries  in  the  land  of  Goshen , is  it  to  be  deemed  chime- 
rical, that  we  view  it  as  possible  that  some  memorials  of 
their  residence  may  there  be  found?  We  recollect  to  have 
somewhere  read  that  Bossuet  and  Leibnitz,  foreseeing  the 
advantages  which  the  monuments  of  Egypt  might  offer  in 
confirmation  of  Scripture  facts,  expressed  a strong  desire 
to  see  them  and  to  study  them  with  a view  to  the  interests 
of  religion.  May  we  be  permitted  to  renew  the  pious  wish 
of  these  great  men  ! With  our  established  relations  in 
Egypt,  with  the  present  advance  of  archaeological  studies, 
and  especially  with  the  invaluable  discovery  of  Champol- 
lion,  no  age  furnishes  so  powerful  means  as  our  own  for 
realizing  such  a desire.  But  we  must  return  to  the  subject 
which  more  directly  occupies  us.  [See  App.  T.] 


154 


5.  In  a period  later  than  that  to  which  our  preceding 
discussions  refer,  we  find  the  prophets  making  mention  of 
an  Egyptian  city  called  Taphnis  in  the  Vulgate  version, 
[and  Tahpanhes  in  the  English,]  ( Jerera . ii.  16  ; xliii.  7,  8, 
9;  xliv.  1 ; xlvi.  14.  Ezelc.  xxx.  14 — 18).  The  Hebrew 
text  calls  it  and  the  Septuagint  Tacpvdç.  We  find 

it  also,  under  the  same  name,  in  a passage  already  indicated 
in  the  Greek  version  of  Judith,  where  it  figures  among  a 
number  of  villages  which  refused  to  submit  to  the  king  of 
Assyria  (i.  9).  Jeremiah  and  Baruch  were  carried  there 
by  the  Jews,  who  after  the  sacking  of  Jerusalem  fled  into 
Egypt,  notwithstanding  the  prohibition  of  these  prophets 
( Jerem . xliii.).  It  was  there  that  Jeremiah  predicted  the 
evils,  which  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  would  suffer  from 
the  hands  of  Nebuchadzezzar  [Jerem.  xliii.  10 — 13).  It 
is  pretended,  but  without  any  proof,  that  he  was  stoned  by 
the  Jews. 

We  think,  with  Bochart  and  many  other  critics,  that  the 
Taphnis  or  [ Tahpanhes ] of  Scripture  is  evidently  a village 
described  by  many  ancient  profane  writers.  Herodotus 
designates  it  by  the  name  of  Jdçpvcu  n^lovaLai , Daphnœ 
Pelusiæ;  and  he  informs  us  that  king  Psammetichus  kept 
strong  garrisons  there  to  protect  this  part  of  Egypt  from 
the  incursions  of  the  Arabians  and  Syrians,  to  which 
it  was  exposed  (ii.  30).  Stephanus  of  Byzantium,  who 
places  it  near  Pelusium,  calls  it  Jucpvrj.  Finally  the  Itin- 
erary of  Antoninus  renders  this  Greek  name  by  that  of 
Daphnus , and  fixes  its  position  sixteen  miles  from  Pelu- 
sium. The  analogy  of  names,  in  our  opinion,  makes  the 
identity  of  the  city  in  Scripture  and  the  city  mentioned  by 
profane  writers,  very  striking.  The  only  perceptible  differ- 
ence, that  of  the  n or  T and  the  cannot  occasion  much 
difficulty  ; every  educated  reader  knows  very  well  that 
these  permutations  of  letters  belonging  to  the  same  organ, 


155 


as  grammarians  say,  are  easy  and  frequent  in  every  tran- 
scription of  proper  names,  especially  when  they  belong  to 
a foreign  language. 

But  farther,  our  object  in  speaking  here  of  the  city  of 
Taphnis , is  less  to  fix  its  position  than  to  mark  the  rela- 
tion of  its  name  to  that  of  an  Egyptian  divinity,  which  the 
hieroglyphic  legends  have  revealed  to  Champollion  (for 
she  does  not  appear  to  have  been  known  by  the  ancient 
authors  whose  writings  we  possess).  It  is  a goddess,  who 
in  her  numerous  images  is  always  represented  with  the 
head  of  a lion,  and  who  is  called  in  the  written  monuments 
X'tJn'TT  (Tafnet  or  Tafne #),  daughter  of  Phre  (the 
sun),  and  twin  sister  of  Sôouf  with  whom  she  represents 
the  constellation  Gemini  in  many  Egyptian  zodiacs.  Such 
homonymes , i.  e.  conformities  of  name  between  cities  or 
individuals  and  the  divinities  to  whom  they  were  sacred, 
were,  as  we  know,  very  common  in  ancient  times  ; but 
especially  in  Egypt,  where  names  of  individuals  are  very 
often  names  of  the  gods,  either  in  their  simple  form,  or  as 
principal  elements.  This  circumstance  is  another  proof 
of  the  eminently  religious  spirit  which  characterized  even 
the  civil  usages  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  above 
example  authorizes  the  conjecture  that  the  worship  of  the 
goddess  Tafne  must  have  been  a special  usage,  in  the  city 
which  bears  her  name. 

We  have  already  found  the  name  of  Tafne , bestowed  by 
the  Hebrew  and  by  the  Vulgate  upon  an  Egyptian  prin- 
cess, the  wife  of  the  Pharaoh  who  gave  an  asylum  to  the 
Idumean  prince  Hadad  (1  Kings  xi.  19,  20)  ; and  the 
same  observations  are  applicable  to  that  case,  as  apply  to 
the  one  just  mentioned. 

* See  General  Table,  succeeding  the  Précis,  No.  53,  p.  6. 

t The  god  Soon  is  represented  elevating  his  arms  to  sustain  the 
heavens  and  his  head  is  surmounted  with  a lunar  disk.  Champollion 
names  him  Hercules  Sunus. 


156 


6.  The  prophetic  books  in  which  Egypt  so  often  figures, 
preserve  the  name,  probably  the  primitive  one,  of  a more 
important  city.  It  is  called  in  Nahum  (iii.  8)  $0 

(No-Ammon),  but  it  is  called  by  Jeremiah  (xlvi.  25)  *ji73N 
fcbjq  literally  Ammon  of  No,  and  more  simply  No  by 
Ezekiel  (xxx.  14 — 16).  It  is  very  evident  that  the  denomi- 
nation given  to  this  city  by  Jeremiah,  is  but  an  inversion 
of  the  name  found  in  Nahum,  and  which  is  expressed  in 
a more  abridged  form  by  Ezekiel  ; and  that  under  these 
three  names  which,  with  some  differences,  have  intimate 
relations,  the  prophets  designated  one  and  the  same  city. 
[In  all  the  above  passages,  the  English  version  has  simply 
No,  and  not  No  Ammon  as  in  Hebrew.] 

The  Vulgate  has  constantly  rendered  the  above  names 
by  the  more  modern  name  of  Alexandria,  and  this  inter- 
pretation astonishes  us  the  more,  because  in  the  Septuagint 
(which  refers  to  a name  in  use  under  the  Greek  domi- 
nation, but  which  chooses  the  most  proper  one,  as  the 
reader  will  soon  see),  the  iô  of  Nahum  is  rendered 
by  the  appellation  of  psglç  ’A(juûv,  literally  the  portion  or 
heritage  of  Ammon  ; and  the  of  Ezekiel  is  rendered 
by  the  well  known  name  of  Diospolis,  Aioanohq.  Not- 
withstanding the  respect  due  to  a version  which  the  Church 
approves  as  a whole,  we  cannot  adopt  the  interpretation  it 
here  gives  of  the  sacred  text  ; for  it  is  absolutely  impossible 
that  the  Scriptures  intended  to  designate  Alexandria  in 
the  passages  referred  to,  since  this  city  was  not  then  in  ex- 
istence. We  know  that  it  was  not  founded  until  a long 
period  after,  by  the  conquering  Macedonian  who  gave  to 
it  his  name.  In  the  times  of  the  prophets,  the  soil  where 
it  afterwards  stood  was  occupied  by  a village  called  Rha- 
cotis,  ‘Paxüziç,  by  historians,  which  village  in  succeeding 
times  became  one  part  of  the  Greek  city.  The  Copts  de- 
signated this  city  of  Alexander  by  the  following  Egyptian 


157 


name,  which  wants  the  termination  added  by  the  Greeks, 
viz.  P^KO^f-,  Pakott.  W e cannot  then  but 
consider  the  anachronism  that  we  have  exposed,  as  an 
inadvertence  of  the  learned  man  to  whom  we  owe  the 
Vulgate  version,  and  who  perhaps  had  adopted  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  Jews  whose  Targums  name  this  place  Alex- 
andria. Let  us  see  now  whether  we  can  restore  to  the 
city  of  the  prophets  its  true  name,  either  in  the  language 
of  the  conquerors  of  Egypt,  or  in  the  ancient  national 
idiom. 

We  find  that  the  Septuagint  renders  the  name  in  the 
text  of  Ezekiel  by  /hôvnohç,  and  this  reading  is  admitted 
by  all  critics.  But  we  cannot  determine  positively  the 
location  of  the  city  mentioned  in  Scripture,  from  the  Greek 
name,  because  at  the  time  when  it  was  adopted,  in  the 
reign  of  Alexander’s  successors,  it  was  common  to  three 
different  cities  of  Egypt  ; and  the  question  is,  to  determine 
to  which  of  these  cities  the  passages  in  the  prophets  refer. 

It  cannot  be  the  Diospolis  parva  of  Upper  Egypt  ; the 
epithet  parva  seems  to  indicate  a village  of  at  least  mode- 
rate extent  ; but  its  position  in  the  upper  part  of  Egypt, 
absolutely  prevents  our  applying  to  it  the  character  which 
is  attributed  to  No- Ammon  by  the  prophets. 

Might  it  not  be  another  Diospolis  parva , which  was 
situated  in  lower  Egypt,  and  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  upon 
lake  Menzaleh?  Many  learned  men  have  thought  (and 
with  some  probability),  that  this  city  is  the  only  one  of 
the  three,  which  by  its  position  seems  to  correspond  per- 
fectly with  the  No- Ammon  of  Nahum.  Nahum  tells  us, 
“ that  it  was  situate  among  the  rivers , that  it  had  the 
waters  round  about  it,  that  its  rampart  ivas  the  sea  ” 
(iii.  8)  ; and  this  is  in  fact  the  situation  of  the  second 
Diospolis.  But  in  another  respect,  he  gives  us  the  idea 
of  a populous,  large,  and  powerful  city,  since  in  the  same 


158 


verse  he  compares  it  to  the  celebrated  Nineveh,  to  which 
he  makes  it  at  least  equal,  and  he  demands  of  the  capital 
of  Assyria,  whether  it  supposed  itself  superior  to  the 
Egyptian  city;  “ Art  thou  better  etc.?”  Now  such  a 
rank  among  cities,  never  could  belong  to  this  Diospolis 
parva. 

These  reasons  have  determined  other  critics  to  consider 
the  city  of  Nahum,  as  an  illustrious,  large,  and  powerful 
city,  which  was  the  centre  of  the  strength,  opulence, 
civilization,  luxury,  and  arts  of  Egypt,  under  the  reign  of 
the  Pharaohs.  It  is  the  city  of  Thebes,  which  also  bore, 
under  the  Ptolemies,  the  Greek  name  of  Diospolis , and 
its  importance  certainly  gives  it  a rank  at  least  equal  to 
that  of  Nineveh.  Still  there  is  a difficulty  here  in  regard 
to  the  position  of  Thebes,  for  it  is  not  surrounded  by 
waters,  nor  is  it  situated  near  the  sea.  But  perhaps  it  is 
lawful  to  suppose,  that  in  the  figurative  style  of  the 
prophet,  his  topographical  details  apply  less  to  this  particu- 
lar city  than  to  entire  Egypt,  of  which  it  was  the  capital  : 
a country  that  is  washed  by  the  sea,  is  intersected  by  a 
large  river  and  by  numerous  canals  which  were  sources 
of  its  prodigious  fruitfulness,  and  whose  navigation  and 
maritime  commerce  filled  it  with  immense  wealth. 

This  opinion  about  the  No-Ammon  of  the  prophets, 
which  is  very  probably  correct,  seems  more  confirmed  by 
the  new  discoveries  that  are  made  by  a knowledge  of 
Egyptian  writings.  Champollion,  who  had  already  read 
a surname  of  the  city  of  Memphis,  that  of  dwelling  of 
Plita  written  in  part  figuratively  in  a hieroglyphic  inscription 
on  the  Rosetta  stone,*  also  found  subsequently,  in  writing 

wholly  phonetical,  the  word  HI,  dwelling  of 

Ammon  ; and  in  this  word  he  recognizes  a title  which 


General  Table,  No.  287,  p.  36. 


159 


was  given  to  the  city  of  Thebes*  where  the  God  Ammon, 
whose  magnificent  temple  still  exists  in  a part  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Karnac,  was  specially  honored. f Now  the  words 
N3  seem  to  express  the  same  idea,  viz.  that  of  the 
dwelling  of  Ammon.  This  appears  to  be  the  signification, 
whether  we  look  into  the  Hebrew  text,  where  the  second 
word  is  very  evidently  the  name  Ammon , and  the  other 
may  be  derived,  according  to  many  learned  men,  from  the 
verb  î“na,  which  expresses  the  idea  of  habitation  as  well 
as  of  repose  ; or  whether  we  regard  this  biblical  name  as 


rendering  the  Egyptian  name  NA<5.j«.0Yn  Naamoun, 
from  which  it  differs  only  by  the  vowels.  This  last  name 
literally  signifies  the  things  which  are,  or  which  belong  to 
Ammon  ; but  it  perhaps  is  correctly  translated  by  the  pla- 
ces of  Ammon,  the  dwelling  of  Ammon  ; in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  Greek  authors  have  rendered  it  by  "Icreov  and 
the  city  of  Isis,  a phrase  entirely  analogous  to  the  Egyp- 
tian name  Nc^HCI,  the  literal  sense  of  which  is  the 
things  that  belong  to  Isis.% 

We  may  add,  that  the  Greek  name  AiôguoIlç  corres- 
ponds perfectly  with  the  above  interpretation,  and  that  it 
is  equivalent  to  the  appellation  yeçlç  5 A ypûv, portion  of 
Ammon,  which  the  Septuagint  also  gives  to  this  city.  In 
fact,  it  signifies  the  city  of  Zeus  or  Jupiter  ; for  we 
know  that  the  Greeks,  who  identified  the  divinities  of 
other  nations  with  those  of  their  own,  where  their  attri- 


* General  Table , No.  288,  p.  36. 

t The  names  of  Ammon  and  of  those  which  are  derived  from  it,  are 
more  frequently  repeated  than  any  other  upon  funereal  monuments 
of  all  kinds.  Champollion,  who  makes  this  observation,  assigns  as  a 
reason  for  it  the  great  number  of  monuments  taken  from  the  tombs 
of  Quornah  at  Thebes  ; and  we  see  in  this  a proof  of  the  devotion  of 
its  inhabitants  to  the  god  Ammon  (See  Précis  du  Syst.  hierogl.  pp. 
164,  165). 

X Égypte  sous  les  Pharaons , tom.  n.  p.  198. 


160 


butes  were  analogous,  gave  to  Ammon  the  name  of  Zevg 
(the  Jupiter  of  the  Latins);  as  they  called  Athor, 
’^(fçodiri]  (Venus);  Phtaf HqcnoTog  (Vulcan);  Neith, 

* A6r,vij  (Minerva),  etc. 

We  find  in  the  Bible  many  other  names  of  places  in 
Egypt,  which  were  celebrated  by  the  events  or  by  the 
prophecies  of  which  they  were  the  theatre  or  object. 
Such  are  £*^73,  Maydâka.  Migdol  (Exod.  xiv.  2.  Num. 
xxxiii.  7.  Jerem.  xliv.  1 ; xlvi.  14)  ; which  must  be  the 
Mayôâloç  of  Herodotus  and  of  Stephanus  of  Byzan- 
tium, and  the  U^tynruiX  of  the  Coptic  writers. 
The  city  of  j]3  is  mentioned  in  Isaiah,  xix.  13.  Jerem.  ii. 
16;  xliv.  1 ; xlvi.  14,  19.  Ezek.  xxx.  16;  it  is  called 
Pjb,  Moph  in  Hos.  ix.  6 ; a name  which  the  Vulgate  and 
Septuagint  likewise  render  by  that  of  Memphis  * The 
city  of  D^riD,  Patros  or  Phatros , is  called  by  the  Septua- 
gint yv  JJaôovQrjç f and  by  the  Vulgate,  terra  Pathures , 
land  of  Phature  or  Pliatros  (Jerem.  xliv.  1,  15.  Ezelc. 
xxix.  14  ; xxx.  14).  This  may  represent  the  name  of 
Upper  Thebai's,  which  Pliny  (v.  9)  calls  Phanturites  or 
Phaturitis.  Such  also  is  Zoan  *p!sfc  which  is  very  cele- 
brated ( Num.  xiii.  22.  Psalm  lxxviii.  12.  43.  Isa.  xix. 
11,  13;  xxx.  4).  This  name  has  a very  perceptible 

analogy  with  the  Egyptian  name  Xahs  (Sjani),  of 
which  the  Arabians  have  made  Ssan,  or  Ssaan,  and  which 
is  very  certainly,  as  the  authors  of  the  Septuagint  and 
Jerome  have  determined,  the  celebrated  Tanis  ; where, 
there  is  reason  to  believe,  many  miracles  were  wrought  by 
the  Lord  for  the  deliverance  of  his  people.  [See  on  the 
various  names  above  mentioned,  dissertations  in  the  Excur- 
sus in  Stuart’s  Course,  of  Hebrew  Study,  No.  1.  Vol.  II.] 

These  names  afford  occasion  for  very  interesting  geo- 

* And  so  the  English  Version  in  Hos.  ix.  6. — Tr. 


161 


graphical  researches  as  connected  with  Scripture,  and  the 
labors  of  learned  men  on  this  subject  have  already  fur- 
nished useful  materials  ; but  the  aim  of  our  work  pre- 
cludes excursions  of  this  kind,  which  are  foreign  to  it,  be- 
cause the  writings  of  Egypt  do  not  yet  afford  any  new  data 
respecting  them.  We  must  wait,  then,  for  results  which 
we  may  be  permitted  to  expect.  While  we  are  writing 
these  lines,  the  author  of  the  invaluable  discovery  which 
has  revealed  to  us  so  many  facts  of  which  we  were  before 
ignorant,  is  exploring  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and  studying 
the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  by  searching  through  its  cata- 
combs and  interrogating  its  monuments  ; and  when  he 
returns  to  his  country,  laden  with  treasures  of  anti- 
quity which  will  enrich  the  knowledge  of  history,  perhaps 
then  both  the  geography  and  history  of  the  holy  books, 
may  claim  a renewed  share  of  attention  from  the  learn- 
ed* 

* Champollion  has  since  returned  and  is  understood  to  be  preparing 
a large  work  for  publication.  He  has  brought  home  with  him  more 
fifteen  hundred  drawings  of  various  kinds,  made  by  himself  and 
other  artists  in  his  company,  all  relating  to  various  objects  of  nature 
and  art  in  Egypt,  and  which  will  probably,  with  the  advantage  of 
the  hieroglyphical  explanations  attending  them  that  he  will  be  able 
to  decipher,  command  a higher  interest  in  Europe  than  any  work  of 
the  like  nature  ever  before  published. — Tr, 


14* 


CHAPTER  IX. 


ANSWER  TO  CERTAIN  DIFFICULTIES  OF  INFIDELS. 

Could  Moses  write  the  Pentateuch  in  the  desert  ? Magnificence  of  the  tab- 
ernacle and  of  other  objects  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God. 

Silence  of  the  sacred  historians  in  relation  to  Sesostris. 

Every  one  will  agree  that  Scripture  is  not  unfrequently 
enveloped  in  obscurity,  and  that  the  reconciliation  of  texts 
is  sometimes  involved  in  very  embarrassing  difficulties. 
This  is  also  true  of  most  of  the  more  recent  oriental 
writers,  and  of  many  ancient  authors  ; and  one  readily 
perceives  that  the  sublimity  of  doctrines,  the  extraordi- 
nary nature  of  events,  the  diversity  of  manners,  the  few 
details  in  certain  narratives  which  were  destined  for  a 
peculiar  people  to  whom  the  facts  related  were  familiar, 
and  finally  the  genius  of  a language  so  different  from 
modern  idioms  and  classical  languages  and  which  besides 
is  now  dead, — all  these  circumstances  have  specially  con- 
tributed to  render  obscure  some  considerable  portions 
of  the  sacred  books.  In  every  period  from  the  first  ages 
of  Christianity,  sacred  criticism  has  been  employed  in 
making  the  Scriptures  easier  to  be  understood,  by  the 
collation  and  discussion  of  passages.  The  works  of  the 
pious  Fathers,  are  chiefly  commentaries  upon  the  divine 
writings.  But  then  the  faith  of  Christians  was  not  sha- 
ken by  the  obscurities  in  question  ; and  for  this  reason, 
the  labors  of  commentators  are  not  ordinarily  of  a polemic 
character.  The  word  of  God  was  received  with  respect, 
even  when  it  was  not  entirely  understood,  and  Christians 


163 


labored  to  profit  from  the  clear  and  lucid  passages,  which 
it  had  pleased  Providence  to  afford  them.  But  it  was  not 
so  at  a later  period,  and  especially  in  the  last  century. 
There  arose  a sect  of  unbelievers,  who  with  an  avowed 
aim  to  overturn  Christianity,*  unceasingly  attacked  the 
holy  books,  and  attempted  in  every  way  to  prove  them 
to  be  error,  or  an  imposture,  or  a contradiction  and 
absurdity.  Among  these  modern  Titans,  and  conspicu- 
ous above  all,  is  the  philosopher  of  Ferney,  who  poured 
out  his  sarcasm  and  hatred  upon  truths  which  his  frivolous 
erudition  was  unable  to  shake.  The  great  men  of  pre- 
ceding centuries  had  brought  their  acquisitions  to  the  aid 
of  religion,  and  to  the  illustration  of  the  sacred  books. 
The  sophists  of  this  new  school  sought  on  the  contrary 
for  arms  to  use  against  Christianity.  Geology,  astronomy, 
geography,  chronology,  history,  the  knowledge  of  ancient 
languages,  and  all  branches  of  science  were  put  in  requi- 
sition, in  a perfidious  attempt  to  decry  the  august  claims 
of  our  faith. 

Providence  likewise  raised  up  for  religion,  learned  and 
zealous  defenders.  Bullet,  Bergier,  Guénée,  and  Deluc, 
refuted  with  success  these  pretended  philosophers  ; and 
their  writings  still  form  a barrier  at  all  points  against  the 
attacks  of  the  adversaries  of  revelation.  But  recent  dis- 
coveries and  new  developments  in  the  sciences,  which 
have  been  more  diligently  studied,  furnish  sacred  criti- 
cism now  with  new  data , and  enable  it  still  more  ably 

* This  circumstance  is  brought  to  light,  by  the  correspondence  of 
Voltaire  and  his  friends.  The  publication  of  their  letters  is  a signal 
service  rendered  to  the  religion  which  they  wished  to  crush,  although 
their  unskilful  editors  were  far  from  proposing  such  an  end.  They 
expose,  in  all  its  disgusting  nakedness,  the  turpitude  of  these  pre- 
tended philosophers  ; and  it  is  an  infallible  means  of  Providence  to 
disabuse  minds  which  have  been  seduced  by  their  false  theories,  and 
which  have  not  yet  entirely  abjured  good  faith,  honor,  and  probity. 


164 


to  defend  revealed  truths.  It  is  desirable  that  the  united 
efforts  of  learned  Christians  should  perfect  the  labors  of 
the  defenders  of  the  last  century,  and  fortify  them  by  all 
which  in  the  present  state  of  human  knowledge  can  be 
added  to  the  defence  of  the  Scriptures.  .Such  a labor 
would  doubtless  be  long  and  toilsome  ; but  its  real  utility 
is  well  adapted  to  excite  zeal,  and  the  authors  of  a well 
executed  work  on  the  plan  of  that  of  Bullet,  would  possess 
strong  claims  upon  public  gratitude.  Our  less  extensive 
undertaking  is  confined  to  the  special  resources  offered 
to  sacred  criticism  in  Egyptian  studies,  and  we  hasten 
to  enter  upon  our  subject,  and  to  describe  to  our  readers 
some  applications  of  the  new  discoveries,  in  the  solution 
of  objections  which  have  been  made  by  infidels  against 
the  sacred  books. 

1.  Some  have  doubted  the  high  antiquity  of  the  Penta- 
teuch. It  has  been  said  that  Moses  could  not  be  the 
author  ; and  by  torturing  a very  clear  passage,  it  has  been 
attributed  to  the  high  priest  Hilkiah,  who,  according  to 
the  true  sense  of  the  Bible,  found  in  the  temple  during 
the  reign  of  Josiah  king  of  Judah,  a copy  of  the  Penta- 
teuch, or  perhaps  only  of  Deuteronomy,  which  was  writ- 
ten hy  the  hand  of  Moses  (2  Kings  xxii.  S.  2 Chron. 
xxxiv.  14).  To  support  the  pretended  impossibility  that 
the  author  was  Moses,  some  have  even  advanced  so  far 
as  to  assert  that  Moses  knew  not  how  to  write.  At  least 
it  has  been  asked  how  he  could  have  written  the  Penta- 
teuch in  the  desert  ; and  what  portable  materials  he  could 
have  had  in  his  situation  to  write  a work  of  such  extent  ? 
Finally,  the  objector  has  not  forgotten  to  remark,  that  the 
book  of  the  Law  must  be  reduced  to  very  small  dimensions 
as  to  its  material  form,  in  order  that  it  might  be  deposited 
in  the  ark  of  the  covenant. 

A full  reply  has  been  given  to  the  whole  of  this  partly 


165 


ridiculous  objection.  The  true  and  natural  sense  of  the 
passage  in  the  sacred  text  relative  to  Hilkiah,  has  been 
exhibited.  As  they  had  foreseen  the  advantages  which 
would  one  day  result  from  the  monuments  of  Egypt,  many 
defenders  of  Scripture  have  appealed  to  the  coffins  of 
mummies  which  contain  painted  inscriptions.  In  short, 
innumerable  ways,  showing  that  Moses  could  have 
written  the  Pentateuch  even  in  the  desert,  have  been 
pointed  out.  The  answer  to  the  objection  was  very  just, 
very  reasonable,  and  more  than  sufficient  ; but  the  re- 
searches of  Champollion  enable  us  to  add  the  testimony 
of  monuments  of  a certain  date,  and  to  reply  by  stating 
facts. 

The  Necropoleis * of  ancient  Egypt,  which  consist  of 
vaults,  where,  as  is  well  known,  many  precious  discove- 
ries have  been  made  about  the  history  of  this  celebrated 
country,  furnish  daily,  among  other  spoils  of  past  ages, 
numerous  manuscripts  on  papyrus.  Some,  filled  with 
hieroglyphics,  and  adorned  with  paintings  of  the  divinities 
of  Amenti  or  the  Egyptian  hell,  and  with  mystic  scenes 
of  the  passage  of  souls, f are  only  repetitions  more  or  less 
complete  of  a kind  of  funereal  ritual.  One  of  these  manu- 
scripts in  the  Turin  Museum,  occupies  a space  sixty  feet 
in  length.  Other  manuscripts  (and  these  are  more  rare 
and  more  important  to  history),  are  traced  usually  in 
hieratic  writing.  They  present  various  kinds  of  acts 
promulgated  by  Egyptian  monarchs,  and  they  bear  the 

* The  name  of  Necropolis  or  city  of  the  dead , is  given  to  places 
of  sepulture  among  the  old  Egyptians,  where  are  found  mummies 
and  other  funereal  monuments.  This  denomination,  which  elsewhere 
expresses  a beautiful  idea,  applies  literally  to  the  vast  extent  of  these 
sepulchral  excavations. 

t Champollion  has  given  in  the  Bulletin  des  sciences  historiques , 
tom.  iv.  p.  347,  an  explanation  of  the  principal  scenes  painted 
upon  the  Egyptian  funereal  papyrus.  It  has  been  separately  pub- 
lished. 


166 


names  and  the  dates  of  the  reigns  of  these  monarchs.  To 
this  class  belongs  a series  of  papyrus  fragments,  which 
remained  for  a long  time  unnoticed  in  the  Turin  Museum, 
but  which  have  now  happily  been  recognized  by  Cham- 
pollion.  The  series  is  very  remarkable  on  account  of 
the  number  and  variety  of  the  pieces  ; and  it  has  led  to 
the  conjecture,  that  it  must  have  formed  the  entire  archives 
of  a temple  or  of  some  other  public  deposit.*  An  im- 
mense number  of  acts  are  there  found,  which  belong  for 
the  most  part  to  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  and  of  which 
none  are  later  than  the  nineteenth.  But  the  most  re- 
markable of  all,  and  very  certainly  the  most  ancient 
manuscript  known  to  this  day,  contains  an  act  of  the 
fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Thouthmosis  III.,  the  fifth  king 
of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  This  memorial  is  in  itself 
a sufficient  answer  to  the  assertions  of  infidels. 

Behold  then  a proof  that  writing  was  known  and  prac- 
tised in  the  days  of  this  Pharaoh,  and  that  the  hieratic 
writing  was  in  use,  which  was  much  more  easy  and  cursive 
than  the  hieroglyphic.  Behold  a proof  of  the  use  of  papy- 
rus, which  some  learned  men,  on  the  authority  of  Varro, 
have  thought  was  not  employed  anterior  to  the  foundation 
of  Alexandria.!  Now  Thouthmosis  III.  governed  Egypt 
at  a later  period,  about  the  time  when  Joseph  was  carried 
there  as  a slave  ; and  consequently,  two  centuries  at  least 
before  the  time  when  Moses  wrote  the  Pentateuch.  It  is 
not  then  true,  as  Voltaire  has  pretended,  that  “ in  the  time 
of  Moses  hieroglyphic  writing  only  was  in  use,  or  that  the 

* Bulletin  des  sciences  historiques,  tom.  n.  p.  301. 

t Pliny,  who  cites  Varro  (xii.  11),  says  (cap.  13),  Ingentia  quidem 
exempta  contra  Varronis  sententiam  de  chartis  reperiuntur  ; i.  e. 
striking  examples  are  found  which  contradict  the  opinion  of  Varro 
concerning  charts.  Caylus,  according  to  Guilandin,  cites  also  many 
similar  passages  from  the  ancients.  See  his  Dissertation  sur  le 
papyrus , in  tom.  xxvi.  of  the  Acad,  of  Inscriptions. 


167 


art  of  engraving  upon  polished  stone,  upon  brick,  upon 
lead,  or  upon  wood,  was  the  only  manner  of  writing,  and 
that  the  Egyptians  and  Chaldeans  wrote  in  no  other  wray.” 
We  demand  in  our  turn,  whether  Moses,  who  was  instruct- 
ed in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians , was  ignorant  of  the 
art  of  writing  ? Could  he  have  had  much  trouble  in  pro- 
curing the  thin  and  light  substance  so  generally  used  in 
Egypt,  which  we  find  employed  by  scribes  more  than  two 
centuries  before  him  ? Finally,  is  it  so  very  astonishing, 
that  the  autograph  of  the  legislator  of  the  Hebrews,  which 
was  an  object  of  veneration  to  all  the  people,  and  which 
was  so  long  and  carefully  preserved  in  the  ark,  could  have 
existed  until  the  reign  of  Josiah,  that  is  to  say,  about  nine 
centuries  after  Moses  ; when  the  hypogeums  of  Thebes 
present  us  with  papyrus,  containing  certain  transactions 
which  were  probably  between  private  individuals  merely, 
and  which  extend  back  3500  years  and  even  more  ? 

2.  The  sacred  Scriptures  give  a very  circumstantial 
account  of  the  richness  of  the  tabernacle,  of  the  ark  of 
the  covenant,  of  altars,  of  chandeliers,  of  vestments  of  the 
high  priests,  of  vases,  and  of  all  objects  which  were  con- 
secrated to  the  worship  of  the  God  of  Israel.  It  informs 
us  of  the  quantity  of  skins  and  of  colored  tissues,  of  rare 
wood,  of  gold,  of  silver,  of  bronze,  and  of  precious  stones, 
employed  in  their  completion,  and  gives  us  a high  idea  of 
the  ingenuity  with  which  all  the  arts  were  unitedly  put  in 
requisition  worthily  to  honor  the  true  God.  We  cannot 
read  what  is  said  on  this  subject  without  wonder  ( Exod. 
xxv. — xxxi.)  ; and  we  are  forced  to  conclude  that  the  art- 
ists who  presided  over  the  execution  of  these  magnificent 
works,  j Bezalecl  and  Aholiab,  were  men  profoundly  skilled 
in  the  polished  arts. 

Modern  infidels  are  not  checked  by  the  sentiment  of  won- 
der which  such  magnificence  naturally  inspires.  These 


168 


details,  even  the  minuteness  of  which  seems  to  vouch  for 
their  correctness,  receive  little  courtesy  from  their  disdain- 
ful criticism.  They  wish  to  prove  the  sacred  text  im- 
probable. They  deny  the  possibility  of  such  labors  among 
the  Israelites  in  the  desert  ; and  they  suppose  their  asser- 
tion to  be  established  by  the  following  positions;  viz.  (1) 
They  were  too  poor  to  sustain  such  expenses.  (2)  They 
were  too  barbarous,  too  little  acquainted  with  the  arts,  to 
be  able  to  execute  of  themselves  works  so  labored  and  so 
magnificent. 

It  is  easy  to  refute  the  first  part  of  this  objection.  It  has 
been  proved  that  the  children  of  Israel  were  not  so  misera- 
ble as  Voltaire  is  pleased  to  suppose  ; that  their  industry 
and  their  labors,  in  the  country  where  they  sojourned  so 
long  a time,  must  have  been  lucrative  ; and  that  having 
carried  with  them  their  own  acquisitions,  which  were 
augmented  by  the  spoils  of  the  Egyptians,  there  is  founda- 
tion for  the  remark  in  Scripture  ; He  brought  them  forth 
also  with  silver  and  gold  (Psalm  cv.  37).  It  is  certain 
that  the  philosopher  of  Ferney  was  in  a striking  error, 
when  he  endeavored  to  deceive  his  readers,  and  represent- 
ed the  Hebrews  in  the  desert  as  a people  in  ivant  of  all 
things. 

The  solution  of  the  second  difficulty  has  been  heretofore 
less  positive,  although  authorized  conjectures  wrere  surely  a 
sufficient  reply  to  allegations  wholly  unsupported.  Now, 
we  can  overthrow  all  the  objection  by  a single  decided 
fact,  which  we  have  observed  as  Egyptian  studies  advan- 
ced, and  especially  from  the  readings  of  hieroglyphic  in- 
scriptions that  are  engraved  upon  monuments  of  all  styles 
and  ages. 

We  have  mentioned  that  Champollion,  in  the  course  of 
his  investigations,  applied  himself,  with  a special  aim  to 
the  history  of  art,  to  compare  the  monuments  of  Egypt, 


169 


whose  ages  could  be  determined  by  means  of  royal  car- 
touches  which  figured  in  their  legends.*  The  first  conse- 
quence of  this  examination,  has  been  a truth  which  had 
already  been  supposed,  but  which  is  now  indisputable  ; viz. 
that  the  arts  of  Egypt,  far  from  having  been  indebted  for 
their  progress  to  the  influence  of  those  from  Greece  under 
the  domination  of  the  Lagidae  kings,  reached,  on  the  con- 
trary, their  highest  perfection  during  the  ages  of  a very 
remote  antiquity.  A fact  of  much  greater  weight  here,  is 
also  made  evident,  viz.  that  the  most  brilliant  epoch  of 
their  splendor  and  glory,  in  the  whole  series  of  Pharaonic 
ages,  was  beyond  any  doubt  that  during  which  the  Diospo- 
litan  family  reigned  over  Egypt,  in  the  eighteenth  epoch 
of  Manetho,  to  which  period  we  owe  the  temples  and 
palaces  of  Luxor , of  Karnac,  of  Quornah , of  3fedinetabou, 
the  Mcmnonium,  the  most  beautiful  obelisks  of  Egypt  and 
Rome,  most  of  the  colossal  statues  known,  and  a multi- 
tude of  small  and  remarkable  monuments  in  the  various 
collections  of  Europe,  etc.f 

Now  we  know  that  this  dynasty  was  cotemporary  with 
the  sojourn  in  Egypt  of  the  children  of  Israel,  who  came 
there  at  latest,  under  its  sixth  king,  after  the  reign  of  the 
great  Thouthmosis  Mœris,  and  who  left  that  country  in  the 
reign  of  Ramses  V.,  the  seventeenth  and  last  king.  This 
synchronism  resolves  the  question  in  a decisive  manner. 

Moses,  being  educated  by  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  was 
instructed , as  we  have  often  repeated,  in  all  the  wisdom  of 
the  Egyptians.  His  people,  who  wTere  for  so  long  a time 
blended  with  the  Egyptians  and  employed  in  their  labors, 
could  not  remain  uninfluenced  by  the  advance  of  the  latter 
in  civilization.  After  the  epoch  of  the  Diospolitan  family, 

* See  Chap.  V.  of  our  first  part,  pp.  89  et  seq. 

t Précis  du  syst.  hierogl.,  p.  292.  ls£  Letter  on  the  Turin  Mu- 
seum, p.  4,  etc. 


15 


170 


there  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  state  of  the  arts,  among 
the  people  who  have  been  gratuitously  taxed  with  igno- 
rance and  barbarism.  The  sumptuousness  of  the  taberna- 
cle and  its  dependencies,  the  casting  of  the  vessel  of  gold, 
and  all  the  works  executed  by  the  children  of  Israel  in  the 
desert,  are  perfectly  consistent  with  what  we  learn  from 
the  monuments  concerning  the  ingenuity  of  Egyptian  art- 
ists during  this  epoch.  Every  thing  conspires  to  render 
the  details  on  this  subject  in  the  sacred  books,  probable 
and  worthy  of  credit.  It  is  unnecessary  to  recur  to  a 
miracle  or  to  supernatural  inspiration  for  an  explanation 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  operated  upon  the  minds  of 
Tdezaleel  and  Aholiab  and  the  skilful  artists  who  labored 
under  their  supervision.  Scripture  itself  seems  to  explain 
it  by  tlieir  icisdom  and  understanding  in  all  manner  of 
workmanship  (Exod.  xxxi.  3,  6),  which,  in  a natural 
manner,  the  Lord  dispensed  to  them  as  he  pleased;  and 
in  the  perfection  of  their  works,  we  may  recognize  the 
happy  influence  of  the  arts  of  Egypt  upon  the  people  of 
God.  Such  was  a necessary  result  of  their  prolonged 
residence  in  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs. 

3.  We  find  then  the  new  discoveries  serving  as  auxilia- 
ries in  the  defence  of  Scripture,  and  furnishing  still  more 
positive  and  peremptory  replies  to  difficulties  which  had 
been  already  resolved  in  a manner  more  or  less  satisfac- 
tory. We  owe  also  to  the  same  sources  the  elucidation  of 
a historical  difficulty,  which  men  have  sought  in  vain  to 
answer,  and  upon  which  their  efforts  have  terminated  in  a 
conviction  of  its  being  inexplicable. 

It  is  remarkable  that  sacred  history,  blended  as  it  often 
is  with  that  of  Egypt,  is  absolutely  silent  about  the  most 
illustrious  sovereign  of  the  country  where  so  many  powerful 
kings  held  the  throne.  We  find  in  Scripture  neither  the 
name  of  the  famous  Sesostris,  nor  any  feature  of  his 


171 


historical  physiognomy  by  which  we  may  distinguish  him 
among  the  various  Pharaohs  there  mentioned.  We  may 
justly  be  astonished  at  such  an  omission  ; and  infidels  who 
are  accustomed  to  arraign  before  their  tribunal  the  narra- 
tives of  the  sacred  books,  have  not  failed  in  this  instance 
to  demand  a reason  for  their  silence,  and  to  found  upon  it 
an  objection  to  the  correctness  and  even  to  the  authenticity 
of  the  divine  writings. 

The  most  reasonable  and  plausible  reply  seems  to  be, 
an  observation  which  we  have  frequent  occasion  to  make 
in  reading  the  Scriptures,  viz.,  that  the  history  of  the  He- 
brews, as  it  is  transmitted  to  us,  being  essentially  religious 
and  national,  gives  no  account  of  a prince  who  did  neither 
good  nor  evil  towards  the  children  of  Israel.  But  the 
application  of  this  general  truth  to  the  particular  case 
in  question,  might  not  appear  very  just,  and  it  might 
be  thought  inconsistent  to  regard  the  conquests  of  an 
Egyptian  monarch  as  entirely  foreign  to  the  history  of 
the  people  of  God.  According  to  Herodotus,  Diodorus, 
and  other  historians,  Sesostris , in  his  expedition  to  Asia, 
must  have  followed  the  Red  Sea.  He  had  subjected 
Phenicia,  and  he  must  have  traversed  Palestine  either  as 
an  ally  or  as  a conqueror.  It  was  reasonable  then  to  de- 
mand what  part  the  Hebrews  took,  whether  they  subjected 
themselves  to  the  yoke  of  the  conqueror,  or  if  not,  by  w hat 
means  they  kept  themselves  free,  when  all  nations  were 
shrinking  before  him,  after  a resistance  more  or  less 
vigorous?  These  circumstances  surely,  whatever  might 
have  been  their  nature,  deserved  to  be  mentioned  ; and 
the  silence  of  the  sacred  historians,  therefore,  about  events 
which  concerned  so  nearly  the  people  of  God,  seemed 
inexplicable.  The  difficulty  remained  the  same  ; and  the 
only  satisfactory  manner  of  resolving  it  was,  by  determin- 
ing the  epoch  of  the  reign  of  Sesostris.  But  here  criticism 


172 


could  only  exhaust  itself  in  vain  conjectures  and  cal- 
culations, because  no  passage  of  the  ancient  historians 
afforded  any  means  of  fixing  this  important  date.  Mar- 
sham  and  some  other  chronologists,  led  into  a mistake 
by  a passage  of  Josephus  which  they  did  not  understand, 
believed  Sesostris  to  be  the  Shishak  of  Kings  and  of 
Chronicles.  This  made  an  anachronism  of  five  centuries; 
and  when  it  was  perceived  that  such  was  the  case,  the 
system  was  abandoned.* * * §  Other  attempts  also  were  made, 
until  chronologists,  discouraged  by  difficulties,  gave  up  the 
hope  of  success,  and  renounced  the  labor  of  finding  the 
date.f 

The  learned  brothers  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  so 
many  precious  materials,  have  been  more  fortunate  than 
previous  investigators.  Champollion  the  younger  has  found 
the  identity  of  the  celebrated  Sesostris , who  is  called  also 
by  historians,  Sethos,  Sethosis,  Sethon,  and  Humeses,  with 
a prince  to  whom  may  be  justly  given  the  name  of  Parié- 
taire, an  epithet  which  was  used  in  antiquity  to  qualify  the 
name  of  the  emperor  Trajan.  His  royal  name  Ramses, 
and  his  titles  and  surnames  which  sufficiently  distinguish 
him  from  other  kings  with  the  name  of  Ramses,  of  whom 
we  have  spoken,  are  read  more  frequently  than  those  of 
any  other  Pharaoh.  They  are  found  upon  a multitude 
of  all  kinds  of  edifices  in  Nubia,  at  Thebes,  at  Abydos, 
upon  many  obelisks  at  Luxor  and  at  Rome,!  upon  colossal 
statues  which  have  been  transported  to  Turin  and  to  Lon- 
don, and  upon  an  infinite  variety  of  monuments.^  They 

* The  reader  cannot  mistake  the  identity  of  Shishak  with  Sesonchis, 
which  we  have  established  in  accordance  with  Champollion. 

t D’  Origny  has  conjectured  that  Sesostris  was  cotemporary  with 
Moses  ; but  he  has  not  fixed  the  dates.  See  Chronologie  des  rois  du 
grand  empire  des  Égyptiens,  torn.  i.  p.  109. 

X Précis  du  Syst.  hierogl p.  271. 

§ 1st  Letter  on  the  Turin  Museum,  p.  67  seq.,  and  2d  Letter, 
p.  36  seq. 


173 


are  found  also  in  Syria  upon  a bilingual  inscription, 
in  hieroglyphics  and  in  cuneiform  characters;*  and  this 
curious  monument  is  an  eloquent  testimony  to  the  warlike 
expeditions  of  the  conquering  prince  in  question,  the  sixth 
of  his  name,  and  chief  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty.  Cham- 
pollion  Figeac,  adding  to  the  researches  of  his  brother,  has 
devoted  himself  to  determining  the  dates  of  this  Pharaoh, 
and  by  a calculation  whose  basis  we  have  explained,  he 
finds  that  the  Egyptian  monarch  succeeded  his  father 
Ramses  V.  or  Amenophis , in  the  year  1473  before  our 
era,  and  that  he  reigned  over  Egypt  until  the  year  1418. 
These  dates  call  to  mind  a fragment  of  Diodorus,  that  is 
preserved  by  Photius  (Biblioth.  cod.  1151),  which  makes 
Moses  cotemporary  with  Danaiis  and  Cadmus.  Common 
opinion,  it  is  known,  makes  the  Danaiis  of  the  Greeks, 
whom  Manetho  calls  Arnai's,  the  brother  of  Sesostris , and 
Sesostris  himself  their  Ægyptus. 

However  this  may  be,  the  determination  of  the  epoch  of 
Sesostris  removes  every  difficulty  ; since  his  accession  to 
the  throne  took  place  17  or  18  years  after  the  departure 
from  Egypt,  which,  with  most  chronologists,  we  have 
placed  in  the  reign  of  his  father  Ramses  Amenopliis , about 
the  year  1491  before  our  era.f 

It  has  been  asked  how  the  Hebrews  could  avoid  the 
yoke  of  the  conqueror  who  invaded  Palestine,  or  could 
preserve  themselves  free  from  all  contact  with  him  ? It 
was  owing  to  the  most  simple  of  all  circumstances  which 
can  be  desired  as  an  explanation  of  the  fact,  a circum- 
stance which  authorizes  us  to  presume  that  they  remained 
absolutely  ignorant  of  the  warlike  expeditions  of  Sesostris. 

* Précis  du  syst.  hierogl.,  p.  272. 

t Although  the  opinion  we  have  advanced  relative  to  the  manner 
and  epoch  of  the  death  of  Amenophis,  should  not  he  admitted,  our 
reply  to  the  difficulties  in  question  would  nevertheless  lose  none  of 
its  force. 


15* 


174 


The  people  of  God  were  not  yet  in  possession  of  the  land 
of  promise  ; they  were  wandering  in  the  deserts  of  Ara- 
bia, and  their  pilgrimage  extended  to  a long  period  after 
the  expedition  of  Sesostris,  since  its  total  duration  was 
forty  years.  Now  in  his  march  with  a numerous  army, 
the  conqueror  must  have  avoided  those  arid  deserts,  where 
they  would  have  been  exposed  to  perish  from  want  of 
food  and  water.  We  learn  from  another  source,  from 
Manetho  in  a fragment  preserved  by  Josephus  ( Cont . Ap. 
i.  15),  that  Sesostris  at  first  took  a direction  towards  the 
island  of  Cyprus  and  Phenicia.  On  his  arrival  in  Pales- 
tine, he  found  only  the  primitive  inhabitants  ; and  the 
history  of  this  idolatrous  people,  not  being  noticed  in  the 
sacred  annals,  except  when  they  are  connected  with  the 
people  of  God,  their  contests  with  the  formidable  monarch 
were  totally  foreign  to  the  object  of  the  inspired  wrriters. 

But  when  Sesostris  returned  to  Egypt,  being  called 
back  by  the  perfidious  intrigues  of  his  brother,  he  must 
have  taken  a different  route  from  that  which  he  had  be- 
fore followed.  Herodotus  (n.  103)  makes  Thrace  the 
boundary  of  his  conquests.  Thrace  then  was  his  point 
of  departure  on  his  return  ; and  in  his  haste  to  reach 
Egypt,  that  he  might  counteract  the  machinations  of  his 
rebellious  brother,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  he  pro- 
fited by  the  fleet  which  he  had  in  the  Mediterranean,  and 
returned  by  sea.  This  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the 
historians  Herodotus  (n.  107),  Diodorus  (i.  57),  and  Ma- 
netho as  cited  by  Josephus  ( Cont.  Ap.  i.  15),  who  all 
agree  in  making  him  arrive  at  Pelusium.  Finally,  had 
he  taken  his  route  by  land  and  through  Palestine,  the 
Hebrew's  would  not  then  have  occupied  this  country  ; be- 
cause, as  Diodorus  relates  (i.  55),  the  expedition  of  Sesos- 
tris, which  w’as  undertaken  at  the  commencement  of  his 
reign,  terminated  in  his  ninth  year. 


175 


From  the  above  explanation,  founded  as  it  is  upon  the 
most  positive  authorities,  it  follows  necessarily  that  dur- 
ing the  conquests  of  the  Pharaoh  in  question,  the  He- 
brews were  preserved  in  a natural  way  from  any  connec- 
tion with  him,  and  that  they  could  not  have  met  him, 
either  in  the  holy  land,  where  God  had  not  yet  brought 
his  people,  or  in  the  desert,  which  this  skilful  warrior  was 
careful  not  to  penetrate.  The  silence  of  Scripture  there- 
fore, about  Sesostris  has  been  wrongfully  imputed  to  it 
as  a reproach,  and  the  fact  needs  no  justification. 

If  it  should  be  demanded  now  how  Sesostris , after 
returning  to  Egypt  triumphant  over  his  enemies,  and 
while  at  the  height  of  his  power,  could  permit  a people 
who  were  in  a manner  revolted  from  Egypt,  to  possess 
the  land  of  Canaan  which  his  own  arm  had  conquered  ; 
we  reply,  that  the  recent  terror  impressed  upon  Egypt 
by  the  plagues  which  visited  them  from  God,  and  perhaps 
a knowledge  of  the  promises  of  the  Lord  to  Israel,  were 
sufficient  to  make  him  dread  a people  for  whom  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Almighty  had  wrought  so  many  miracles, 
and  especially  had  opened  a passage  through  the  Red 
Sea,  an  event  not  less  miraculous  than  the  passage  of  the 
Jordan.  But  we  insist  particularly  upon  the  following 
observation  ; which  is,  that  the  systems  of  war  and  of 
policy  in  ancient  times,  resembled  in  no  respect  those  of 
modern  times.  Troops  were  not  left  behind  to  retain  a 
people  in  subjection,  and  to  preserve  invaded  provinces  ; 
and  warlike  expeditions,  which  were  often  confined  to 
the  taking  of  a certain  number  of  captives,  to  the  pillage 
of  flocks,  or  to  the  exaction  of  certain  tributes,  were 
rather  adventurous  incursions  than  stable  conquests. 
This  general  remark,  justified  as  it  is  by  history,  is  par- 
ticularly applicable  to  Sesostris,  who,  after  having  ex- 
tended his  empire  almost  to  the  limits  of  the  then  known 


176 


world,  appears  not  to  have  preserved  any  but  his  con- 
quests in  Africa.  Justin,  speaking  of  this  Pharaoh  and 
of  a king  of  the  Scythians,  thus  describes  the  character 
of  these  chivalric  conquerors,  as  we  might  term  them  ; 
Longinqua,  non  jinitima  bella  gerebant  ; nec  imperium 
sibi , seel  populis  suis  gloriam  queer ebant  ; contentique  vic- 
toria, imperio  abstinebant  (i.  1)  ; i.  e.  they  carried  on 
distant,  not  neighboring  wars  ; neither  did  they  seek 
power  for  themselves,  but  glory  for  their  country  ; and 
content  with  victory,  they  abstained  from  dominion. 

An  author  whom  we  have  followed  as  our  guide  in  the 
present  question,  M.  Cocquerel,  goes  much  farther  than 
ourselves.  He  assays  to  prove  that  the  Hebrew  people, 
during  the  epoch  of  the  events  which  we  have  been  con- 
sidering, were  in  full  peace  and  in  relations  of  amity  with 
Egypt  ; and  he  explains  by  the  influence  of  Sesostris, 
certain  facts  of  secondary  importance,  which  the  Scrip- 
tures connect  with  the  period  of  the  sojourn  in  the  desert. 
We  refer  to  his  interesting  little  work,*  in  which  he  gives 
to  this  question  the  fullest  development  of  which  it  is 
susceptible. 

We  cannot  conclude  our  remarks  on  the  illustrious 
chief  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  without  referring  to  the 
recent  discovery  of  a roll  of  papyrus,  which  was  found  by 
Champollion  in  the  rich  collection  of  M.  Sallier  at  Aix, 
and  which  has  aroused  the  curiosity  of  all  the  learned  in 
Europe.  This  manuscript,  which  is  written  in  demotic 
characters,  and  is  a monument  unique  in  its  kind,  is  a 
history  of  the  campaigns  of  Sesostris  Ramses.  It  is 
filled  with  a circumstantial  account  of  his  conquests,  of 
the  force  and  composition  of  his  army,  and  it  was  written 
in  the  ninth  year  of  his  reign,  that  is  to  say,  according  to 
Diodorus,  in  the  year  of  his  return  to  Egypt.  It  is  fol- 

* Lettre  sur  le  Système  hiéroglyphique,  pp.  32 — 46. 


177 


lowed  by  another  composition  entitled  ; Eulogium  of  the 
great  Icing  Amcmnengon , a name  with  which  we  are  not 
acquainted,  but  which  is  related  to  the  names  of  many 
Pharaohs.* 

Champollion,  in  his  haste  to  embark  on  his  voyage  of 
research  in  Egypt,  could  only  take  a rapid  glance  over 
the  papyrus  of  M.  Sallier  ; and  his  departure  leaves  us 
still  to  regret  a difference  of  opinion  about  the  interpreta- 
tion of  this  precious  manuscript,  concerning  which  the 
most  lively  impatience  is  felt.  It  is  thought  that  the  dis- 
covery will  be  of  great  interest  to  history  ; and  perhaps 
the  history  of  the  people  of  God  will  be  furnished  from  it 
with  new  data. 


CHAPTER  X. 

EGYPTIAN  ZODIACS. 

Discovery  of  the  zodiacs  of  Dendera  and  of  Esne.  Objections  against  bib- 
lical chronology.  Arrival  in  France  of  the  planisphere  of  Dendera. 
Contradictory  systems  about  this  monument.  The  date  of  this  and  of 
other  zodiacs  ascertained  by  Champollion.  Object  of  zodiacal  rep- 
resentations among  the  ancients. 

Since  the  precious  remnants  of  antiquity  began  to  be 
explored,  no  monument  of  ancient  nations,  not  even  ex- 
cepting the  admirable  chefs  d’  œuvres  of  Greece,  has  pro- 
duced a sensation  like  that  excited  in  our  own  day  by  the 
famous  zodiacs , which  are  sculptured  upon  the  temples  of 
ancient  Egypt.  Doubtless,  they  were  far  from  being  un- 
interesting in  relation  to  the  arts  ; and  considered  as 


Bulletin  des  sciences  historiques , tom.  x.  p.  200. 


178 


astronomical  monuments,  they  seem  worthy  likewise  of  the 
attention  and  study  of  skilful  men.  We  may  say,  how- 
ever, without  fear  of  being  charged  with  exaggeration, 
that  the  importance  with  which  they  were  honored,  was 
owing  much  less  to  their  real  merit,  than  to  the  strange 
theories  of  which  they  have  Been  made  the  basis,  and 
especially  to  that  prodigious  antiquity  which  many  learned 
men  have  been  pleased  to  assign  them;  an  antiquity, 
which  extending  back  far  beyond  all  known  limits,  has  a 
tendency  to  nothing  less  than  utterly  to  overthrow  the 
chronology  of  the  Bible.  In  this  view,  these  monuments 
enter  necessarily  into  our  design  ; since  they  have  been 
opposed  to  the  authority  of  the  holy  books,  and  since  the 
reading  of  hieroglyphics  furnishes  the  only  means  of  de- 
termining their  age  with  certainty,  and  of  arranging  them 
in  their  proper  order  among  the  series  of  ancient  monu- 
ments. 

1.  It  appears  that  these  zodiacal  representations  were 
not  known  before  the  close  of  the  last  century.  At  least, 
travellers  who  had  previous  to  this  period  visited  Den - 
dera  and  its  temple1,  never  spoke  of  its  zodiacs.  But  dur- 
ing the  campaigns  of  the  French  army  in  Egypt,  a corps  of 
troops  under  the  command  of  General  Desaix,  having  as- 
cended the  Nile  in  order  to  penetrate  the  upper  part  of 
the  country,  arrived  at  Dendera , the  ancient  Tcntyris , 

which  is  called  in  the  Coptic  language  NïTm^Uipï. 
Some  one  soon  discovered,  among  its  ruins,  the  great 
temple  consecrated  to  the  goddess  Hath  or  (Venus)  ; and 
the  aspect  of  this  chef  d’œuvre  of  Egyptian  architecture, 
struck  with  admiration  the  minds  of  all,  even  of  the  most 
uncultivated  soldiers.  General  Desaix  immediately  ob- 
served the  planisphere  or  circular  zodiac , which  in  part 
formed  the  ceiling  of  a hall  situated  upon  the  terrace  of 
the  temple.  He  hastened  to  communicate  the  fact  to  the 


179 


commission  of  learned  men  and  artists,  who  made  a part 
of  the  Egyptian  expedition.  M.  Denon  took  a copy  of  it, 
which  he  inserted  in  his  book  of  travels.  Messrs.  Jollois 
and  Devilliers  afterwards  sketched  it;  and  their  much 
superior  copy  has  been  engraved  in  the  magnificent  Atlas 
of  the  Description  de  V Egypte.  In  the  same  temple  of 
Dendera , a second  zodiac  was  discovered,  which  likewise 
adorned  the  ceiling  of  the  portico.  It  is  not  circular  like 
the  former,  but  it  is  rectangular  and  is  sculptured  upon 
two  parallel  bands.  Finally,  the  temples  of  Esne,  the 

Chh  of  Coptic  writers,  which  seems  to  be  the  ancient 
Latopolis,  furnished  the  Champollions  with  two  other 
zodiacs,  which  are  also  rectangular  ; but  unfortunately  the 
most  remarkable  of  the  two  has  suffered  much  by  mutila- 
tion. The  three  last  mentioned  monuments  are  likewise 
engraved,  in  the  grand  work  on  Egypt. 

2.  The  zodiacs  were  immediately  published  and  com- 
mented upon  with  more  or  less  good  faith  and  decorum. 
Science  struck  out  into  systems  very  bold  ; and  the  spirit 
of  infidelity,  seizing  upon  the  discovery,  flattered  itself 
with  the  hope  of  drawing  from  thence  new  support.  It 
was  unjustifiably  taken  for  granted,  that  the  ruins  of 
Egypt  furnished  astronomy  with  monuments,  containing 
observations  that  exhibited  the  state  of  the  heavens  in  the 
most  remote  periods.  Starting  with  this  assumption,  by 
means  of  calculations  which  were  represented  as  infallible, 
but  which  were  entirely  hypothetical,  a pretence  was 
made  of  demonstrating,  that  the  celestial  appearances  as- 
signed to  these  monuments  extended  back  from  forty-five 
to  sixty-five  centuries  ; that  the  zodiacal  system  to  which 
they  must  belong  dated  back  fifteen  thousand  years,  and, 
must  reach  far  beyond  the  limits  assigned  by  Moses  to 
the  existence  of  the  world.  Among  those  who  upon  this 
subject  stood  forth  in  a manner  more  or  less  formal  as  the 


180 


adversaries  of  revelation,  the  most  prominent  was  the 
famous  author  of  U Origine  de  tous  les  Cultes .* 

But  systematic  infidelity  had  ceased  to  be  fashionable. 
The  altars  that  had  been  overturned,  were  rising  again 
upon  their  ruins  ; and  experience,  which  had  been  pur- 
chased at  the  dear  price  of  a bloody  revolution,  tended 
daily  to  lead  the  mind  to  a divine  religion,  the  only  secu- 
rity for  individual  or  national  peace  and  prosperity.  The 
sensation  which  the  zodiacal  systems  produced  upon  the 
world,  was  hardly  felt  beyond  the  very  limited  circle  of 
men  specially  devoted  to  study  ; and  although  a few  per- 
sons, imbued  still  with  the  principles  of  a pestilential 
school,  applauded  the  pretended  triumph  of  infidelity,  yet 
intelligent  as  well  as  pious  men  were  grieved  to  find  the 
common  belief  of  all  Christian  societies  attacked  in  its 
foundations. 

Revelation  however,  though  thus  opposed  in  its  primi- 
tive claims,  did  not  see  its  cause  abandoned.  It  found 
zealous  defenders,  among  whom  we  must  give  the  chief 
rank  to  the  celebrated  antiquarian  Visconti,!  a man 
whose  name  is  of  high  celebrity  in  the  arts,  and  to  the 
Abbé  Testa, J secretary  of  the  Roman  chancery.  These 
able  men  fought  upon  the  same  ground  with  their  oppo- 
nents, that  is  to  say,  they  considered  the  zodiacs,  accord- 
ing to  the  received  opinion,  as  astronomical  monuments. 
But  if  on  this  account  they  failed  to  view  the  question  in 
its  true  light  (which  perhaps  was  impossible  in  the  state 
of  knowledge  at  that  period),  at  least  they  replied  to  their 

* M.  Dupuis. 

t In  a Notice  sur  les  zodiaques  de  Dendera , inserted  in  the  second 
edition  of  Herodotus , by  Larcher,  tom.  n.  p.  567. 

t We  are  ignorant  of  the  date  of  the  Memoir  of  M.  Testa  publish- 
ed at  Rome.  The  translation  of  this  little  work  appeared  in  1807, 
under  the  title  ; Dissertation  sur  deux  zodiaques  nouvellement  dé- 
couverts en  Égypt.  Paris,  Leclere,  8vo. 


181 


opponents  by  calculations  equally  conclusive  with  those  of 
the  latter,  and  they  reduced  very  much  the  exaggerated 
antiquity  which  had  been  assigned  to  the  zodiacal  monu- 
ments.* Discussions  on  this  point  soon  ceased,  and  every 
one  was  left  to  adopt  chance  opinions  about  a question, 
which  was  much  debated  and  but  little  explained. 

But  when  (in  1821)  a young  and  courageous  traveller, 
in  spite  of  every  obstacle,  had  succeeded  in  the  bold  at- 
tempt to  detach  the  planisphere  of  Dendera  from  the 
ceiling  which  it  adorned,  and  had  performed  the  no  less 
difficult  task  of  transporting  it  by  main  strength  to  the 
sea  ; when  this  celebrated  monument  was  disembarked 
at  Marseilles,  and  in  the  following  year  was  borne  into 
the  capital,  so  to  speak,  in  triumph, fit  aroused  to  the  high- 
est pitch  of  curiosity,  an  age  in  which  the  influence  of 
knowledge  was  felt  more  and  more.  An  object  of  inte- 
rest to  educated  men,  and  of  vanity  to  those  who  thought 
themselves  such,  it  could  not  remain  unnoticed  by  the 
multitude  ; and  classes  of  society  who  knew  not  even  the 
signification  of  the  name  zodiac , rushed  in  crowds  to  be- 
hold it.J  In  the  journals,  in  the  saloons,  the  zodiac  was 
the  only  topic  of  discussion.  Have  you  seen  the  zodiac  ? 
what  think  you  of  the  zodiac  ? were  questions  to  which 
every  one  was  seemingly  compelled  to  give  a well  inform- 
ed answer,  or  to  be  degraded  from  a place  in  polished 
society  ; since  fashion,  that  capricious  mistress  whose 

* The  abbe  Testa  gives  to  the  zodiac  of  Dendera  an  antiquity  of 
300  years  before  the  Christian  era  ; Visconti  places  its  age  from  12 
years  to  132  years  before  the  same  era.  Visconti  appears  also,  in  his 
Supplément  à la  notice,  inclined  to  the  Roman  epoch. 

t See  the  interesting  JYotice  sur  le  voyage  de  M.  Lelorrain  en 
Égypte,  par  M.  Saulnier  fils.  Paris,  1822,  in  8vo. 

t The  zodiac  was  purchased  by  the  king  for  150,000  francs,  and 
was  exhibited  in  the  Louvre  during  a year.  It  is  now  in  one  of  the 
halls  of  the  Library. 

16 


182 


sway  is  peculiarly  powerful  in  France,  awarded  to  a 
monument  of  such  antiquity  the  honor  of  a moment’s  ad- 
mission into  her  ever-changing  empire.  In  a word,  to 
speak  more  gravely  and  more  consistently  with  our  sub- 
ject, this  fondness  for  the  zodiac,  whether  real  or  affected, 
exhibited  to  the  eye  of  an  observer  who  loved  to  study  the 
exciting  scenes  of  the  world,  an  enticing  spectacle,  and 
inspired  him  with  serious  reflections. 

4.  The  no  less  strong  sensation  which  the  zodiac  pro- 
duced among  learned  men,  took  another  form,  and  gave 
rise  to  the  most  important  results.  It  became  an  object 
of  profound  study,  and  immediately  there  appeared  a 
multitude  of  dissertations  upon  the  nature,  destination, 
and  age  of  this  monument. 

Mathematicians  and  astronomers,  according  to  their 
several  systems,  made  constant  scientific  calculations, 
whose  results  they  endeavored  to  make  correspondent  with 
the  epoch  of  the  world,  when  the  heavens  presented  the 
astronomical  appearances  which  the  zodiac  was  supposed 
to  represent.  This  undertaking  was  very  difficult,  not  to 
say  fruitless.  For  in  order  to  such  a determination,  as 
Champollion  has  very  justly  observed  ; “It  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  possess  exactly  the  learned  theory  of  modem 
astronomy  ; there  is  wanting  still  a precise  knowledge  of 
this  science  as  it  was  understood  by  the  Egyptians  them- 
selves, with  all  its  errors  and  in  all  its  simplicity.  If  he 
does  not  know  that  Egyptian  astronomy  was  essentially 
blended  with  religion,  and  even  with  that  false  science 
which  professes  to  read  in  the  state  of  the  heavens  the 
future  condition  of  the  world  and  of  individuals,  the  bold 
speculator  upon  the  monument  of  Dendera  will  find  him- 
self upon  dangerous  ground.  He  is  exposed  to  mistake 
an  object  of  worship  for  an  astronomical  sign,  and  to  con- 
sider a representation  purely  symbolical,  as  the  image  of 


183 


a real  object.”*  But  preconceived  notions  made  men  too 
forgetful  of  these  just  and  natural  sentiments,  and  there 
was  little  hope  of  establishing  the  true  point  in  question. 
For  this  reason,  all  the  diligence  of  the  most  able  men 
produced  only  theories  which  were  wholly  divergent, 
though  apparently  they  took  their  rise  from  the  same 
principles,  and  tended  to  the  same  end.  On  account  of 
their  uncertainty,  these  theories  are  of  no  real  utility  to 
science  ; and  their  contradictions  have  singularly  contrib- 
uted to  disparage  the  pretended  astronomical  authority  of 
the  Dcndera  monument. 

Archaeology,  in  turn,  viewed  this  subject  under  a dif- 
ferent aspect.  Men  who  were  profoundly  skilled  in  the 
comparative  study  of  ancient  monuments,  and  who  were 
long  accustomed  to  class  them  dexterously  in  the  various 
epochs  belonging  to  the  history  of  art,  sought  to  apply  to 
the  zodiac  a similar  kind  of  monumental  criticism.  Al- 
though Egyptian  studies  were  then  very  far  from  the 
development  which  they  have  since  received,  yet  it  is 
true  that  antiquarians  exhibited  much  more  skill  than  as- 
tronomers. They  generally  agreed  in  attributing  the 
zodiac  to  the  epoch  of  the  Roman  domination  in  Egypt. 
But  their  judgment  was  in  a manner  influenced  by  that 
nice  tact  in  the  arts,  which  perhaps  tends  more  to  organi- 
zation than  to  deep  and  serious  study  ; and  the  princi- 
ples upon  which  it  was  established,  were  of  a nature  too 
delicate  to  be  easily  apprehended  and  generally  appre- 
ciated. On  this  account  the  modest  opinions  of  archae- 
ology were  easily  suppressed  by  the  more  pompous  glitter 
of  the  scientific  terms  which  astronomy  employed. 

5.  In  the  midst  of  these  discussions,  and  of  the  grave 
or  gay  reflections  to  which  they  gave  rise  in  the  world,  an, 
irreligious  spirit  fermented  anew.  Rash  opinions  were 

* See  Lettre  au  rédacteur  de  la  Revue  Encyclopédique.  No. 
August,  1S22. 


184 


hazarded  ; the  infidelity  of  Dupuis  was  spread  about  by 
means  of  small  pamphlets  ; and  the  zodiac  became  an 
occasion  of  scandal,  and  in  a sense,  a political  arena, 
until  a new  Alexander  arose  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot  which 
men  had  vainly  sought  to  untie.  This  was  Champollion 
the  younger,  armed  with  his  discovery.  In  applying,  as 
we  have  seen,  his  phonetic  alphabet  to  the  various  names 
inscribed  in  royal  cartouches  upon  Egyptian  monuments, 
he  found  upon  the  planisphere  of  Dendera , as  it  appeared 
in  its  entire  state,  before  it  had  been  detached  by  M.  Le- 
lorrain,  a title  evidently  Roman,  that  of  AOTKPTP 
AvToxQC(Tb)Q}  emperor;  which  indicated,  with  sufficient 
probability,  Claudius  or  Nero , princes  who,  in  their 
Egyptian  medals,  are  not  often  designated  by  any  other 
denomination.  Pushing  his  examination  still  farther,  he 
read  upon  the  grand  edifice  on  whose  ceiling  the  planis- 
phere had  been  placed,  the  titles,  the  names,  and  sur- 
names of  the  emperors  Tiberius , Claudius , Nero , and 
Domitian , and  upon  the  portico  of  Esney  whose  zodiac 
had  been  judged  to  be  many  centuries  older  than  that  of 
Dendera , he  read  the  names  of  the  Roman  emperors, 
Claudius  and  Antoninus  Pius. 

These  monuments  then,  whose  age  has  occasioned  so 
much  discussion  and  given  rise  to  so  many  systems,  be- 
long to  the  period  of  the  Roman  domination  in  Egypt, 
and  cannot  extend  back  beyond  the  first  or  second  cen- 
tury of  our  own  era.  There  is  no  more  scope  for  vain 
conjectures,  or  for  calculations  which,  though  learned, 
fail  of  a definite  starting  point.  The  monuments  speak 
for  themselves,  and  in  a positive  manner  ; their  testimony 
is  irresistible.  No  reply  can  be  given  to  them,  for  in  fact 
there  is  nothing  which  can  furnish  an  answer  ; and  rumor 
only,  with  her  vague  whispers,  can  impugn  the  happy  ap- 
plication which  Champollion  has  made  of  his  ingenious 


185 


discovery.  The  so  long  contested  question  will  now 
cease  to  agitate  the  minds  of  men,  and  the  age  of  the 
zodiacs  must  remain  irrevocably  fixed. 

Thus  has  Providence  designed,  that  the  first  important 
result  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  discoveries  of  which  the 
human  mind  could  ever  boast,  should  be  in  favor  of  re- 
vealed religion  ; and  that,  so  opportunely,  the  reading  of 
a simple  name  should  suddenly  repress  the  dangerous 
errors  of  science,  and  the  reprehensible  hopes  of  the  ene- 
mies of  Christianity. 

6.  One  of  the  most  excellent  Hellenists,  M.  Letronne, 
who  for  many  years  has  explored  with  rare  sagacity  and 
with  complete  success  the  Greek  and  Roman  antiquities 
of  Egypt,  has  arrived  in  part  to  the  same  conclusions  with 
Champollion  in  a different  way.  About  the  same  time 
with  the  latter,  he  found  inscriptions  on  the  temples  of 
Esne  and  Dcndcra , which  exhibited  the  names  of  the 
emperors  that  were  described  also  in  hieroglyphic  legends 
of  the  same  temples.*  His  collective  results  confirmed  at 
once  and  decisively  the  judgment  of  Champollion,  or 
rather  of  the  monuments  which  he  interpreted,  in  relation 
to  the  age  of  the  zodiacs  ; and  confirmed  also  Champol- 
lion’s  system  of  phonetic  hieroglyphics.  The  skilful  acade- 
mician extended  his  labors  on  this  subject.  In  a special 
work  which  is  full  of  erudition  and  interesting  matter,! 
M.  Letronne,  on  finding  a zodiac  painted  upon  a mummy 
coffin  which  belonged  to  the  time  of  Trajan,  labors  to 
demonstrate  that  ail  representations  of  this  kind  traced 
upon  Egyptian  monuments,  date  from  the  Roman  domi- 
nation and  from  the  epoch  of  the  emperors  ; that  they  do 

* See  Recherches  pour  servir  à,  l'histoire  de  l'Égypte  pendant  la 
domination  des  Grecs  et  des  Romains.  Paris,  1823,  in  8vo.,  and  the 
work  referred  to  in  the  following  note. 

t Observations  critiques  et  archéologiques  sur  l'objet  des  repre- 
sentations zodiacales  qui  nous  restent  d&  l'antiquité.  Paris,  1324. 

16* 


186 


in  no  respect  relate  to  astronomy,  but  that  they  are  con- 
nected with  the  idle  phantasies  of  judicial  astrology,  and 
are  merely  what  adepts  in  this  pretended  science  call 
tlicmcs  of  nativity . He  remarks  also,  that  time  would  be 
lost,  and  much  difficulty  would  be  incurred,  in  an  effort 
to  make  them  subjects  of  scientific  calculation,  for  they 
can  never  be  adapted  to  it  ; and  lastly  he  adds,  that  they 
will  in  no  case  ever  lead  to  any  chronological  result. 

According  to  this  system  then,  which  is  entirely  satis- 
factory, the  zodiacs  found  in  certain  temples  of  Egypt 
may  be  regarded  as  relating  to  the  destinies  of  the  empe- 
rors who  made  or  completed  them.  But  the  explanation 
of  their  arbitrary  signs,  and  the  supposititious  meaning 
which  has  been  given  to  them,  has  hitherto  been  unintel- 
ligible, and  probably  will  always  remain  so.  Their  ob- 
scurity will  never  occasion  very  deep  regret. 

We  terminate  this  chapter  with  the  following  reflection, 
which  we  borrow  from  the  work  of  M.  Letronne  already 
cited  : “The  Egyptian  zodiacs/’  says  he,  “thus  deprived 
of  the  high  antiquity  which  had  been  so  liberally  assigned 
them,  and  of  the  purely  astronomical  character  which 
they  were  supposed  to  have,  lose  nearly  all  their  impor- 
tance. They  are  nothing  more  than  simple  objects  of 
curiosity,  which  may  furnish  the  artist  and  the  antiquary 
with  the  means  of  making  a few  collations,  but  which  will 
hereafter  present  no  object  for  truly  philosophical  re- 
search ; for  instead  of  concealing,  as  was  expected,  the 
secret  of  a science  which  had  reached  its  perfection  even 
before  the  deluge,  they  are  merely  a representation  of  ab- 
surd reveries,  and  a testimony  still  living  of  one  of  the 
follies  which  have  most  disgraced  the  human  mind.” 


CONCLUSION. 


We  come  now  to  the  conclusion  of  our  undertaking'. 
With  the  aid  of  the  new  discoveries  in  Egypt,  we  think 
that  we  have  shed  some  light  upon  various  passages  of  the 
sacred  annals,  and  that  we  have  resolved,  in  a more  satis- 
factory manner,  certain  difficulties  which  infidels  opposed 
to  their  veracity.  We  have  attentively  examined  the  re- 
sources which  the  writings  and  monuments  of  Egypt  afford, 
in  the  interpretation  and  defence  of  a religion,  whose  lot 
has  been,  in  all  ages,  to  meet  with  enemies,  when  it  should 
have  found  only  admirers  and  disciples.  But  the  researches 
to  which  we  have  been  attending  very  naturally,  as  we 
think,  give  rise  to  a thought  consoling  to  the  Christian. 

Providence,  whose  operations  are  so  sensibly  exhibited 
in  the  whole  physical  constitution  of  the  world,  has  not 
abandoned  to  chance  the  government  of  the  moral  or  intel- 
lectual world.  By  means  often  imperceptible  even  to  the 
eye  of  the  man  of  observation,  and  which  seem  reserved 
for  his  own  secret  counsel,  God  directs  second  causes, 
gives  them  efficiency  according  to  his  will,  and  make3 
them  serve,  sometimes  even  contrary  to  their  natural 
tendency,  to  accomplish  his  own  immutable  decrees,  and 
to  propagate  and  support  that  religion  which  he  has  re- 
vealed to  us.  It  is  in  this  way  that,  consistently  with  his 
own  will,  he  delays  or  accelerates  the  march  of  human 
intellect  ; that  he  gives  it  a direction  such  as  he  pleases  ; 
that  he  causes  discoveries  to  spring  up  in  their  time,  as 
fruits  ripen  in  their  season  ; and  that  the  revolutions  which 


188 


renew  the  sciences,  like  those  which  change  the  face  of 
empires,  enter  into  the  plan  which  he  traced  out  for  him- 
self from  all  eternity. 

Does  not  this  sublime  truth,  which  affords  an  inex- 
haustible subject  of  meditation  to  the  well  instructed  and 
reflecting  man,  but  which  needs  for  its  development  the 
pen  of  a Bossuet, — does  it  not  apply  with  great  force  to 
the  subject  that  we  have  been  considering  ? 

Since  the  studies  of  our  age  have  been  principally 
directed  to  the  natural  sciences,  which  the  irreligious 
levity  of  the  last  age  had  so  strangely  abused  to  the  preju- 
dice of  religion,  we  have  seen  the  most  admirable  discove- 
ries confirming  the  physical  history  of  the  primitive  world, 
as  it  is  given  by  Moses.  It  is  sufficient  to  cite  in  proof  of 
this  fact,  the  geological  labors  of  our  celebrated  Cuvier. 
Now  that  historic  researches  are  pursued  with  a greater 
activity  than  ever  before,  and  the  monuments  of  antiquity 
illustrated  by  a judicious  and  promising  criticism,  Provi- 
dence has  also  ordered,  that  the  writings  of  ancient  Egypt 
should  in  turn  confirm  the  historic  facts  of  the  holy  books  ; 
facts  against  which  a systematic  erudition  had  furnished 
infidelity  with  so  many  objections  that  were  unceasingly 
repeated,  though  they  had  been  a thousand  times  refuted. 
We  cannot  doubt  that  human  knowledge,  as  it  becomes 
more  and  more  disengaged  from  the  spirit  of  system,  and 
pursues  truth  as  its  only  aim,  will  still  attain,  as  it  advan- 
ces, to  other  analogous  results. 

Thus,  as  has  been  often  said,  revealed  religion  has  no 
greater  foe  than  ignorance.  Far  from  making  it  her  ally , 
as  men  who  deny  the  testimony  of  all  ages  have  not  blush- 
ed to  assert,  she  cannot  but  glory  in  the  advance  of  the 
sciences.  She  has  always  favored  them,  and  it  is  chiefly 
owing  to  her  influence,  that  they  have  been  preserved  in 
the  midst  of  the  barbarism  from  which  she  has  rescued  us. 


189 


Thus  the  progress  of  true  science,  the  progress  of  light 
(to  use  a legitimate  though  often  abused  expression),  far 
from  being  at  variance  with  revealed  religion,  as  its  ene- 
mies have  represented  ; far  from  being  dangerous  to  it,  as 
some  of  its  disciples  have  appeared  to  fear;  tends,  on  the 
contrary,  each  day  to  strengthen  its  claims  upon  all  en- 
lightened minds,  and  to  prove,  in  opposition  to  the  pride 
of  false  science,  that  this  divine  religion,  confirmed  as  it 
is  by  all  the  truths  to  which  the  human  mind  attains, 
is  the  truth  of  the  Lord  which  endureth  forever  (Psalm 
cxvii.  2). 


APPENDIX. 


[ A.  p.  7.  ] 

Brief  description  of  Anaglyphs. 

The  peculiarity  in  the  anaglyphs  referred  to  by  our  author 
in  this  paragraph,  is,  that  they  are  made  to  express  ideas 
purely  conventional.  Champollion  calls  them  (p.  348,  Précis) 
“ extraordinary  compositions  or  fantastic  beings,”  or  even 
“real  beings  which  have  no  connection  with  each  other  in 
nature,  but  which  are  related  in  a manner  purely  arbitrary.” 
Letronne  remarks  of  them  (p.  426,  Précis),  that  “they  evi- 
dently contain  the  most  secret  mysteries  of  theology,  the 
history  of  the  birth  or  nativity,  of  the  combats,  and  of  the 
various  actions,  of  mythic  personages  of  all  orders.  Some 
express  certain  moral  qualities  attributed  to  God,  the  first 
principle  of  all  things,  or  communicated  by  him  to  man; 
others  are  significant  of  physical  phenomena.”  The  Greek 
word  ' avaylvyr]  signifies  raised  carving  or  engraving;  ex- 
actly the  has-relief  of  the  French.  The  mythic  symbols  called 
anaglyphs , were  usually  executed  only  in  this  way.  Our 
author  adverts  to  them  again,  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  first 
part  of  this  work. 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark  here,  that  those  anaglyphs 
which  are  so  occult  in  their  meaning  as  to  be  incapable  of 
explanation,  are  few  in  number,  when  compared  with  the 


192 


APPENDIX. 


other  kinds  of  hieroglyphics  (for  most  of  the  anaglyphs,  as 
Champollion  observes,  are  attended  by  small  legends  in  real 
hieroglyphic  writing  which  explain  them)  ; nor  can  they  fur- 
nish any  support  to  the  opinion  which  our  author  is  combat- 
ing. The  general  impression  among  ancient  nations,  that 
Egyptian  hieroglyphics  tvere  all  a mystery,  may  have  been 
partly  owing,  as  the  Marquis  Spineto  observes  (p.  48),  to  “ the 
persuasion  that  Egypt  was  the  parent  of  all  the  arts  and 
sciences,  the  storehouse  of  the  most  ancient  records,  and  the 
repository  of  all  the  mighty  events  which  had  so  often 
changed  the  face  of  the  world.”  All  the  wonderful  inven- 
tions of  the  Egyptians,  and  the  profound  awe  inspired  by  the 
ceremonies  of  Isis,  contributed  to  give  currency  to  this  opin- 
ion. These  circumstances,  however,  though  well  calculated 
to  mislead  the  multitude,  do  not  sufficiently  account  for  the 
general  silence  of  ancient  writers  concerning  hieroglyphics. 
Our  author  soon  alludes  to  this  subject. 


[ B.  p.  9.  ] 

Chronological  periods  in  Egyptian  History. 

From  the  histories  of  Egypt  by  Manetho,  Herodotus,  Dio- 
dorus, Strabo,  Plutarch  and  others,  and  from  the  discove- 
ries of  Champollion,  chronologists  have  been  led  to  divide  the 
Egyptian  empire  into  five  periods.  They  are  described  as 
follows  by  the  Marquis  Spineto  (p.  15  seq.)  : 

« The  first  begins  with  the  establishment  of  their  govern- 
ment, and  comprehends  the  time  during  which  all  religious 
and  political  authority  was  in  the  hands  of  the  priesthood, 
who  laid  the  first  foundation  of  the  future  power  of  Egypt, 
founding  and  embellishing  the  great  city  of  Thebes,  building 
magnificent  temples,  and  instituting  the  mysteries  of  Isis, 
from  Misraim  to  Menes. 


APPENDIX. 


193 


The  second  period  begins  at  the  abolition  of  this  primitive 
government,  and  the  first  establishment  of  the  monarchical 
government  by  Menes.  From  this  time  commences  what  is 
generally  called  the  Pharaonic  age,  and  ends  at  the  irruption 
of  Cambyses.  This  is  doubtless  the  most  brilliant  period  of 
the  Egyptian  monarchy,  during  which  Egypt  was  covered 
with  those  magnificent  works  which  still  command  our  admi- 
ration, and  excite  our  astonishment  ; and  by  the  wisdom  of 
its  institutions  and  laws,  and  by  the  learning  of  its  priests, 
was  rendered  the  most  rich,  the  most  populous,  and  the  most 
enlightened  country  in  the  world. 

The  third  epoch  embraces  [about]  200  years,  and  begins 
from  the  overthrowing  of  the  empire  of  the  Pharaohs  by  Cam- 
byses, 529  years  before  Christ,  and  ends  at  Alexander. 

The  fourth  epoch  embraces  the  reign  of  the  Ptolemies.  It 
begins  at  the  death  of  Alexander,  or  rather  at  the  elevation 
of  Ptolemy  Lagus  to  the  throne  of  Egypt,  323  years  before 
Christ,  and  ends  at  the  death  of  the  famous  queen,  Cleopatra, 
when  that  kingdom  became  a Roman  province. 

At  this  period,  which  precedes  the  birth  of  our  Saviour  by 
two  years  only,  the  fifth  epoch  begins,  and  continues  to  the 
time  when,  about  the  middle  jof  the  fourth  century,  the  Chris- 
tian religion  having  become  the  religion  of  the  country,  the 
use  of  hieroglyphics  was  forever  discontinued,  and  the  Coptic 
characters  were  generally  adopted.” 


t C.  p.  16.  ] 

Inscription  at  Rosetta * 

A part  of  the  decree  is  here  sübjoined,  that  readers  may' 
have  some  idea  of  the  singular  language  and  extraordinary 
titles  assumed  by  the  kings  of  Egypt.  To  understand  the 
accumulated  allusions  to  the  divinities  of  Egypt  in  connection 

17 


194 


APPENDIX. 


with  the  name  of  Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  in  whose  favor  the  de- 
cree was  made,  it  may  be  necessary  to  premise,  that  the 
theogony  of  the  Egyptians  originally  admitted  but  one  God, 
the  creator  of  the  world,  the  Demiurgos,  who  was  Ammon. 
This  god  governed  the  world  by  means  of  his  several  attri- 
butes, and  these  attributes  in  process  of  time  seem  to  have 
been  viewed  as  distinct  divinities,  and  by  the  Greeks  were 
made  to  correspond  with,  or  rather  furnished,  the  several 
deities  of  their  mythology.  The  Greek  names  of  the  divini- 
ties appear  in  the  following  decree,  instead  of  the  old  Egyp- 
tian names,  as  the  translation  here  presented  is  from  the 
Greek.  It  may  be  well  to  suggest  here  also,  that  the  Egyptians 
were  accustomed  to  attribute  the  various  successful  acts  of 
"their  sovereigns,  to  the  special  favor  of  those  divinities,  who 
presided  over  the  departments  of  action  in  which  their  agency 
had  been  displayed.  The  following  is  a copy  of  the  decree 
on  the  Rosetta  monument,  as  abridged  by  the  marquis  Spineto, 
p.  58  seq. 

“ In  the  ninth  year,  on  the  fourth  day  of  Xanthicus,  the 
eighteenth  of  the  Egyptian  month  Mechir,  of  the  young  king 
who  received  the  government  of  the  country  from  his  father, 
lord  of  the  asp-bearing  diadems,  illustrious  in  glory,  who  has 
established  Egypt  ; the  just,  the  beneficent,  the  pious  towards 
the  gods  ; victorious  over  his  enemies,  who  has  improved  the 
life  of  mankind,  lord  of  the  feasts  of  thirty  years  ; like  Vulcan 
the  mighty  king,  like  the  sun,  the  mighty  king  of  the  upper 
and  lower  countries  ; the  offspring  of  the  parent-loving  gods, 
approved  by  Vulcan,  to  whom  the  sun  has  given  the  victory  ; 
the  living  image  of  love,  the  offspring  of  the  sun,  Ptolemy,  the 
ever-living,  beloved  by  Vulcan,  the  god  illustrious,  munifi- 
cent ; the  son  of  Ptolemy  and  Arsinoë,  the  parent-loving  gods  ; 
the  priest  of  Alexander  and  the  saviour  gods,  and  the  brother 
gods,  and  the  gods  beneficent,  and  the  parent-loving  gods, 
and  the  king  Ptolemy,  the  god  illustrious,  beneficent,  being 
Aëtus  the  son  of  Aëtus  ; Pyrrha,  the  daughter  of  Philinus, 
being  the  prize-bearer  of  Berenice  the  beneficent  ; Areia,  the 
daughter  of  Diogenes,  being  the  bearer  of  baskets  of  Arsinoë 
the  brother-loving  ; Irene,  the  daughter  of  Ptolemy,  being 


APPENDIX. 


195 


priestess  of  Arsinoë  the  parent-loving  ; it  was  this  day  decreed 
by  the  high-priests,  the  prophets,  those  who  enter  the  sacred 
recesses  to  attire  the  gods,  the  wing-bearers,  and  the  sacred 
scribes,  and  the  rest  of  the  priests  who  came  from  the  tem- 
ples of  Egypt,  to  meet  the  king  at  the  assembly  of  the 
assumption  of  the  lawful  power  of  king  Ptolemy,  the  ever- 
living,  beloved  by  Vulcan,  the  god  illustrious,  munificent, 
succeeding  his  father;  and  who  entered  the  temple  of  Mem- 
phis, and  said  ; Whereas  king  Ptolemy,  the  ever-living,  the 
god  illustrious,  munificent,  son  of  king  Ptolemy  and  queen 
Arsinoë,  the  parent-loving  gods,  has  given  largely  to  the 
temples  of  Egypt,”  &c. 

Thus  they  enumerate  all  the  warlike  and  benevolent  deeds  of 
Ptolemy  ; which  they  wish  to  remunerate  by  ordering,  “ that 
the  honors  at  present  paid  to  king  Ptolemy  be  augmented 
greatly  ; that  there  shall  be  erected  an  image  of  king  Ptolemy 
the  ever-living,  the  god  illustrious  and  munificent,  which  shall 
be  called  sacred  to  Ptolemy,  studious  of  the  prosperity  of  his 
country  ; to  Ptolemy,  who  has  fought  for  Egypt,  and  to  the 
image  the  greatest  god  of  the  temple  shall  offer  the  tro- 
phies of  victory,  in  each  and  every  temple,  in  the  most  con- 
spicuous place  in  the  temple  ; all  which  things  shall  be 
arranged  according  to  the  custom  of  Egypt.” 

Then  follow  the  ceremonies  which  are  to  be  observed,  the 
appointment  of  the  time  in  which  they  are  to  be  performed, 
and  of  the  priests  who  are  to  celebrate  these  ceremonies 
“ with  sacrifices,  libations,  and  other  honors  ;”  permitting 
“ that  the  same  festival  may  be  celebrated  with  proper  honors 
by  other  individuals,  and  that  they  may  consecrate,  in  like 
manner,  a golden  shrine  to  the  god  illustrious  and  munificent, 
with  due  respect,  keeping  it  in  their  houses,  observing  the 
assemblies  and  feasts,  as  appointed,  every  year  ; which  shall 
be  done  in  order  that  it  may  be  made  manifest  that  the  in- 
habitants of  Egypt  honor  the  god  illustrious  and  munificent, 
as  it  is  just  to  do.” 

The  whole  concludes  by  ordering  that  “ this  decree  shall 
be  engraved  on  a hard  stone,  in  sacred  characters , in  common 
characters , and  in  Greek;  and  be  placed  in  the  first  tern- 


196 


APPENDIX. 


pies,  and  in  the  second  temples,  and  in  the  third  temples, 
wherever  may  be  the  sacred  image  of  the  king,  whose  life  is 
forever.” 


[ D.  p.  21.  ] 

Hieroglyphic  method  of  writing  the  name  Ptolemy. 

The  hieroglyphic  name  of  Ptolemy  is  contained  in  the 
cartouche  No.  1.  (See  Plate  I.)  The  following  are  the  signs 
which  Champollion  supposes  to  correspond  with  and  express 
the  letters  of  the  Greek  name  TITOAMHS . The  square , 
with  the  Greek  77;  the  half  circle , with  the  consonant  T ; 
the  flower  ivith  the  stem  bent,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called  the 
knop,  with  the  vowel  0 ; the  lion  in  repose , with  the  consonant 
A ; the  three  sides  of  a parallelogram , with  the  M ; to  the  two 
feathers  he  assigned  the  import  of  the  Greek  77,  considering 
them  as  a complex  character,  formed  by  the  doubling  of  a 
single  feather  (the  single  feather  representing  E}  two  feathers 
he  supposes  to  be  equivalent  to  EE,  which  is  the  same  as  the 
Greek  H ) ; and  the  crooked  line  he  considered  as  represent- 
ing the  consonant  2. 


[ E.  p.  23.  ] 

Hieroglyphic  method  of  writing  the  names  Cleopatra  and 
Ccesar. 

The  hieroglyphic  name  of  Cleopatra  is  contained  in  the 
cartouche  No.  2,  upon  Plate  I.  The  signs  there  correspond 
with  the  Greek  letters  in  KAE  OJIATPA. 

To  prove  that  the  conjectures  of  Champollion  were  true, 
the  first  sign  in  the  name  of  Cleopatra  should  not  be  found  in 


APPENDIX. 


ni 

the  name  of  Ptolemy,  because  the  letter  K does  not  occur  in 
ÏITOAMJJ2.  This  was  found  to  be  the  fact.  The  letter  K 
is  represented  by  a quadrant. 

The  second  sign  (a  lion  in  repose  which  represents  the  A ), 
is  exactly  similar  to  the  fourth  sign  in  the  name  of  Ptolemy, 
which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  represents  an  A. 

The  third  sign  in  the  name  of  Cleopatra  is  a feather  ; which 
should  represent  the  single  vowel  E,  because  the  two  feathers 
in  the  name  of  Ptolemy  represent  double  Epsilon , which  is 
equivalent  to  the  Greek  H.  Such  is  its  import.  As  Greppo 
remarks  in  a note,  and  as  has  been  fully  proved  by  subse- 
quent investigations  of  Champollion,  the  sign  which  resembles 
two  feathers,  corresponds  also  with  the  vowels  E}  I}  and  with 
the  dipthongs  AI,  EL 

The  fourth  character  in  the  hieroglyphic  cartouche  of  Cleo- 
patra, representing  a fioiuer  with  a stalk  bent  back  (or  a knop), 
corresponds  to  the  0 in  the  Greek  name  of  this  queen.  This 
sign  is  the  very  same  with  the  third  character  in  the  hiero- 
glyphic name  of  Ptolemy,  which  there  represents  0. 

The  fifth  sign  is  in  the  form  of  a square.  It  here 
represents  the  77,  and  is  the  same  with  the  first  sign  in  the 
hieroglyphic  name  of  Ptolemy. 

The  sixth  sign,  corresponding  to  the  Greek  vowel  A in 
Cleopatra,  is  a hawk  ; which  of  course  ought  not  to  be  found 
in  the  name  of  Ptolemy  (as  it  has  no  letter  A J}  and  it  is  not. 

The  seventh  character  is  an  open  hand , representing  the 
T ; hut  this  hand  is  not  found  in  the  hieroglyphic  name  of 
Ptolemy,  where  T,  the  second  letter  in  that  name,  is  repre- 
sented by  a half  circle.  The  reader  will  see  in  Note  G.  why 
these  two  signs  stand  for  the  same  letter  and  sound. 

The  eighth  character  in  the  name  of  Cleopatra,  which  is 
a mouth,  and  which  here  represents  the  Greek  P,  should  not 
be  found  in  the  name  of  Ptolemy,  and  it  is  not. 

The  ninth  and  last  sign  in  the  name  of  the  queen,  which 
represents  the  vowel  A,  is  the  hawk,  the  very  same  sign 
which  represents  this  vowel  in  the  third  syllable  of  the  same 
name. 


17* 


198 


APPENDIX. 


The  name  of  Cleopatra  is  terminated  by  two  hieroglyphic 
symbolical  signs,  the  egg  and  the  half  circle , which,  according 
to  Champollion,  are  always  used  to  denote  the  feminine  gender. 


Another  example  is  here  subjoined,  of  hieroglyphical  pho- 
netic writing  in  the  name  of  one  of  the  Roman  sovereigns 
of  Egypt.  It  is  that  of  the  emperor  Cœsar  in  the  car- 
touches  a and  b,  No.  3.  It  is  written  in  the  Greek  legends 
Jvtoy.q(xtwq  KuLchxqoç.  The  imperial  title  AYTOKPTJ1P 
(with  the  second  A suppressed),  frequently  stands  in  a car- 
touche by  itself,  and  is  joined  by  a line  or  lines  to  another 
cartouche  containing  the  proper  names  of  the  emperors.  Such 
is  the  case  in  the  example  given  in  No.  3,  a.  AYTOKPTSIP 
is  thus  explained. 

The  hawk  is  the  vowel  A ; the  line  curved  to  the  left , which 
somewhat  resembles  our  numeral  figure  9,  is  the  Greek  Y ; 
the  open  hand  is  the  T ; the  curved  line  is  also  used  to  denote 
the  0 ; the  triangle  surmounted  hy  a small  parallelogram , is  the 
K ; the  mouth  is  the  P ; the  open  hand  is  the  T as  above  ; 
the  line  curved  to  the  right  is  the  SI  ; and  the  lion  is  the  P. 
The  word  emperor  is  frequently  written  hieroglyphically, 
with  a suppression  of  more  letters  than  in  the  present  example, 
and  in  different  ways;  e.  g.  AOTOKPTP , AOTKPTOP, 
AOTAKPTP. 

The  proper  name  KAI2AP02  is  thus  explained  (see 
No.  3,  b).  The  segment  of  a circle  iviih  a handle , is  the  letter 
K ; the  two  feathers  represent  the  H,  or  AI ; the  two  hori- 
zontal sceptres  facing  each  other,  represent  the  2 ; the  hawk 
represents  the  A ; the  lion  the  P ; the  0 is  suppressed  ; and 
the  2 is  represented  as  before  by  two  horizontal  sceptres  fa- 
cing each  other.  All  these  signs  united  make  KH2AP2  or 
KAI2AP2. 


APPENDIX. 


199 


[ F.  p.  34.  ] 

Distinction  between  the  different  kinds  of  hieroglyphics. 

It  is  evident  from  the  remarks  which  immediately  follow 
the  quotation  from  Clement,  that  M.  Greppo  considers  Clem- 
ent’s third  subdivision  of  symbolical  hieroglyphics,  as  virtually 
included  under  his  second.  The  reference  made  to  a third 
method  may  confuse  the  reader  unless  he  is  aware  that 
Champollion  includes  it  as  a subdivision  under  his  second 
general  division. 

We  shall  perhaps  better  understand  the  correspondency 
between  Champollion  and  Clement,  by  attending  to  the  for- 
mation of  ideographic  signs.  If  the  reader  will  consult  the 
Précis , pp.  333 — 338,  he  will  find  the  substance  of  what  is 
said  upon  their  formation,  accompanied  with  copious  illustra- 
tions. 

The  essential  principle  of  ideographic  signs,  is  imitation . 
The  first  process  in  their  formation  is  a mere  picture,  more 
or  less  perfect,  of  sensible  objects.  Thi3  imitation  might  do 
well,  in  cases  where  there  were  no  ideal  objects  to  be  expres- 
sed, which  no  sensible  forms  of  mere  sensible  objects  could 
represent.  Now  so  far  as  ideographic  signs  imitate  the  forms 
of  objects  the  ideas  of  which  are  to  be  conveyed,  they  are 
called  figurative  by  Champollion,  and  signs  of  proper  imitation 
by  Clement.  The  reader  will  take  care  to  note  here,  that 
figurative , thus  employed,  does  not  mean  tropical  (as  it  does 
in  treatises  of  rhetoric)  ; but  figurative  expresses  simply  the 
idea,  that  the  sign  so  called  is  an  imitation  of  the  figure , 
shape,  or  form  of  some  sensible  object,  or  of  one  supposed  to 
be  so. 

Next,  in  order  to  express  ideographic  ally  abstract  ideas  and 
intellectual  forms , the  Egyptians  painted  objects,  which  had 
relations  to  these  ideas  and  forms  more  or  less  distant,  real  or 
supposed,  until  at  last  they  came  to  make  use  of  forms  for  the 
expression  of  ideas,  which  corresponded  to  objects  that  had 


200 


APPENDIX. 


in  fact  no  quality  or  attribute  in  common  with  the  idea  to  be 
denoted,  other  than  that  which  was  arbitrarily  and  absque 
naturâ  assigned  to  them.  All  signs  of  this  class  Champollion 
designates  by  the  general  name  of  symbolical.  This  corres- 
ponds with  the  name  of  tropical  given  them  by  Clement, 
which  Champollion  frequently  uses  as  synonymous  with  sym- 
bolical. 

When  the  process  of  symbolically  expressing  ideas  went 
so  far,  as  that  the  objects  represented  had  in  fact  no  attribute 
or  quality  in  common  with  the  ideas  to  be  expressed,  but  the 
relation  of  the  former  to  the  latter  was  entirely  imaginary  and 
conventional,  then  the  signs  made  use  of  are  what  Champol- 
lion denominates  purely  symbolical , or  allegorical.  Such  seems 
to  be  the  true  origin  of  anaglyphs  ; and  Champollion’s  desig- 
nation of  these,  appears  to  correspond  with  the  allegories 
expressed  by  certain  enigmas , as  Clement  has  expressed  it. 

Hence  the  nature  of  anaglyphs,  which,  says  Spineto,  “ seem 
to  be  an  enlargement  of  the  use  and  meaning  of  symbolical 
hieroglyphics,”  may  be  more  fully  understood.  All  symbolic 
signs  of  pure  convention,  it  would  appear,  are  proper  ana- 
glyphs, or  at  least  the  bases  of  them.  Such,  for  example,  is 
the  scarabee,  to  signify  the  male  nature  or  paternity  ; the 
vulture,  the  female  nature  or  maternity  ; a mouse,  destruc- 
tion ; a hare,  openness,  &c.  Signs  like  these  are  called  by 
Champollion  true  enigmas , or  enigmatic  symbolic  signs  ; and 
by  Spineto  they  are  named,  signs  of  pure  convention. 

Among  anaglyphs  must  also  be  classed  many  signs  which 
are  used  to  represent  Egyptian  gods  and  godesses,  such  for 
example  as, 

1.  Those  which  represent  divinities  under  a human  figure, 
connected  with  the  head  of  the  animals  which  were  conse- 
crated to  them. 

2.  Those  which  leave  out  the  figure  of  the  divinities,  and 
represent  the  entire  figures  of  animals  which  were  sacred  to 
them,  accompanied  by  some  of  the  insignia  which  belong  to 
the  divinities  of  whom  they  are  the  emblems. 

3.  Those  which  exhibit  an  inanimate  object  or  parts  even 
of  animated  objects  to  designate  divinities  symbolically,  as  an 


APPENDIX. 


201 


eye  for  the  symbol  of  Osiris  ; a nilometer,  of  the  god  Phtha  ; 
an  obelisk,  of  Jupiter  Ammon. 

Letronne,  after  enumerating  some  of  the  recluse  and 
abstract  ideas  frequently  conveyed  by  anaglyphs  (some  of 
which  are  quoted  above  in  Note  A.),  adds  the  following 
remarks,  which  support  the  classification  here  made  of  all 
signs  of  pure  convention  under  the  head  of  anaglyphs.  “ The 
images  of  the  gods,”  says  he,  “ which  are  exhibited  in  the 
temples,  md  the  human  figures  with  the  heads  of  animals, 
or  animals  with  human  members,  [such,  for  example,  as  the 
body  of  a lion  with  the  head  of  a man,]  are  but  letters  of  this 
recluse  writing  by  means  of  anaglyphs , if  indeed  we  may 
give  the  name  of  writing  to  pictures  which  express  collective 
ideas  (ensembles  d’idees),  without  any  very  close  connection 
with  each  other.  It  is  in  this  sense,  probably,  that  the  priests 
of  Egypt  gave  to  the  ibis,  to  the  hawk,  &c.,  the  name  of 
letters  [yoa^aara],  because  they  were  true  elements  of  a 
kind  of  allegorical  writing.”*  So  Champollion  says  ; “ Ana- 
glyphs to  a certain  extent  may  be  considered  as  a kind  of 
writing,  which,  if  you  please,  may  be  called  symbolic  ivriting, 
but  it  does  in  no  respect  resemble  the  pure  hieroglyphic 
writing,  which  is  entirely  distinct.  In  proof  of  this,  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  say,  that  most  of  the  figures  which  compose  the 
anaglyphs,  are  accompanied  by  small  legends  in  true  hiero- 
glyphic writing,  which  explain  them.”f 

As  a further  explanation  of  this  subject,  Champollion  adds  ; 
u Very  many  of  the  symbolical  images  employed  in  anaglyphs, 
appear  in  the  hieroglyphic  texts  ; not  for  the  purpose  of  there 
combining  among  themselves  and  forming  scenes  and  tablets, 
[a  purpose  which  they  answered  when  thus  combined  by  the 
Egyptian  priests,  and  peculiarly  appropiated  to  the  formation 
of  anaglyphs,]  but  as  simple  tropical  signs  of  an  idea,  like 
characters  of  a true  writing.  Thus  employed,  they  are 
blended  and  put  in  a line  with  other  characters,  which  are 
of  an  entirely  distinct  nature  in  regard  to  their  mode  of  ex- 
pression.”]: 


v-t 


Précis,  p.  427. 


t Ibid,  p.  349. 


X Ibid,  p.  349. 


202 


APPENDIX. 


Letronne  comes  to  a similar  conclusion.  “ Anaglyphs  pro- 
perly so  called  or  allegorical  tablets,”  says  he,  “though  com- 
posed in  general  of  monstrous  images,  were  nevertheless 
directly  connected  with  pure  hieroglyphic  writing.  Sacred 
texts  and  anaglyphs  exhibited  a certain  number  of  common 
characters  ; as  for  example,  the  symbolic  signs , which  occu- 
pied the  place  of  [i.  e.  expressed]  the  proper  names  of  differ- 
ent divinities,  and  which  were  introduced  into  hieroglyphic 
texts  as  representatives  (so  to  speak)  of  the  characters  of 
mythic  beings.”* 

Anaglyphs,  when  devoted  by  the  priests  to  their  special 
and  abstract  use,  viz.  to  express  mysterious  systems  of  psy- 
chology, cosmogony,  philosophy,  &c.  were  combined  together 
so  as  to  represent  a series  of  peculiar  scenes  ; and  when  it  is 
considered  that  a great  proportion  of  the  symbolic  signs  called 
anaglyphs , were  reserved  for  these  special  uses  only,  and  never 
appeared  in  the  ordinary  hieroglyphic  ivriting , a reason  will  be 
seen  why  they  are  classed  separately,  and  why  they  are  so 
difficult  to  be  deciphered.  On  the  other  hand,  when  it  is 
considered  that  anaglyphs,  when  used  in  the  pure  hieroglyphic 
writing,  were  not  combined  together  to  represent  the  peculiar 
mysteries  of  the  priests,  but  were  used  separately  as  single 
characters,  i.  e.  letters  or  signs,  thrown  in  indiscriminately  to 
express  ideas  tropically , — in  this  point  of  view,  a reason  per- 
haps may  appear,  for  the  distinction  made  in  respect  to  their 
diverse  uses. 

The  following  example  of  an  anaglyph,  which  was  found  by 
Champollion  among  the  monuments  in  the  Turin  Museum, 
may  serve  somewhat  to  illustrate  their  nature.  We  copy  an 
account  of  it  from  Spineto,  who  had  seen  the  original  descrip- 
tion by  Champollion  in  his  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Blacas. 

“ On  a block  of  black  granite,  which  represents  a throne, 
there  are  two  royal  personages,  one  male,  and  the  other  fe- 
male, with  a long  inscription,  by  which  it  appears  that  the 
name  of  the  Pharaoh  was  Horns,  and  the  name  of  the  woman 
was  Tmauhmot , his  daughter,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  king- 


Précis,  p.  430, 


APPENDIX. 


203 


dom.  On  each  side  of  this  throne  there  is  a curious  basso-re- 
lievo. The  one  on  the  side  of  the  throne  towards  queen 
Tmauhmot , presents  a curious  specimen  of  anaglyphs.  It 
consists  of  a female  sphinx,  of  a peculiar  sort  ; it  has  a human 
head,  as  usual,  and  it  is  sitting  ; but  instead  of  a paw,  it  has 
an  arm,  raised  in  the  attitude  of  protection.  From  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  animal  issue  two  large  wings,  half  unfolded,  and 
its  tail  rises  perpendicularly  and  falls  almost  in  the  same  di- 
rection, with  a large  tassel  at  its  end.  On  the  head  there  is 
a round  bonnet,  peculiar  to  queens  and  goddesses,  at  the  top 
of  which  there  is  a bunch  of  flowers,  rather  elegantly  arranged. 
On  the  ears  of  the  monster  hang  large  round  rings,  similar  to 
those  worn  by  other  females  painted  on  coffins  or  mummies, 
and  round  its  neck  there  is  a collar,  the  medallion  of  which, 
instead  of  falling  on  the  breast,  projects  forward,  and  remains 
suspended  in  the  air. 

This  most  extraordinary  figure,  perfectly  Egyptian,  rests 
on  a low  basis,  and  has  before  its  right  hand  an  oval  sur- 
mounted by  the  solar  disk,  standing  in  the  middle  of  two 
enormous  feathers.  The  interior  of  this  oval  contains  six 
characters,  altogether  forming  the  name  of  Tmauhmot.  The 
female  figure  is  merely  figurative  and  emblematical.  And  to 
conclude  the  whole,  below  the  animal  are  thirteen  plants,  or 
rather  flowers  of  lotus,  arranged  in  two  different  lines. 

This  is  a perfect  anaglyph.  The  sphinx,  we  know,  was 
the  emblem  of  strength  and  wisdom  ; inasmuch  as  it  consisted 
of  the  body  o a lion  with  the  head  of  a man,  and  conse- 
quently was  symbolically  used  to  represent  some  of  the  gods 
and  goddesses,  who  are  reasonably  considered  as  possessing 
these  two  attributes  in  an  eminent  degree.  But  on  this  occa- 
sion, the  oval  which  exhibits  the  name  of  queen  Tmauhmot  evi- 
dently proves  that  we  must  look  for  the  person,  which  this 
basso-relievo  intends  to  honor,  not  amongst  the  celestial,  but 
the  terrestrial  goddesses.  This  is  not,  indeed,  the  first  time 
in  which  the  sovereigns  of  Egypt  have  been  figured  under 
the  fantastic  form  of  a sphinx,  with  or  without  wings.  This 
exhibition,  therefore,  must  be  considered  as  a symbolical 
image  of  queen  Tmauhmot  herself,  and  the  flowers  of  lotus, 


204 


APPENDIX. 


which  are  evidently,  though  emblematically,  taken  for  the 
Nile,  and  for  the  whole  country  of  Egypt,  produce  one  of 
those  anaglyphs,  which,  under  appearances  very  often  mon- 
strous, contained  the  praises  of  the  Egyptian  monarchs.  The 
signification  therefore  of  the  whole,  seems  to  be,  a monument 
raised  to  the  memory  of  queen  Tmauhmot , styled  the  Guardian 
and  Protectress  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  by  her  wisdom  and 
strength .”  (Lect.  xiii.) 

[i  would  add  merely  to  the  preceding  view  of  anaglyphs, 
that  the  whole  subject  of  division  appears  somewhat  obscure 
and  involved,  not  only  in  the  passage  of  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
but  in  Letronne,  Champollion,  and  even  in  Greppo.  An  ob- 
vious general  division  of  hieroglyphics,  and  one  which  is  intel- 
ligible to  every  reader,  is  the  following  ; viz. 

(1.)  Hieroglyphics  alphabetic  ; i.  e.  hieroglyphics  which 
stand  simply  for  alphabetic  letters.  Such  are  those  exhibited 
in  Plate  I.  in  Nos.  1,  2 and  3,  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 
When  thus  employed,  they  are  neither  more  nor  less  than 
proper  letters  of  an  alphabet. 

(2.)  Hieroglyphics  figurative  ; i.  e.  hieroglyphics  which,  ac- 
cording to  a remark  made  above,  are  simple  imitations  or 
likenesses  of  sensible  objects,  or  such  as  express  the  figures  of 
sensible  objects.  Such  are  a circle  for  the  sun,  a crescent  for 
the  moon,  an  arch  painted  blue  for  the  sky,  the  proper  figure 
of  an  ibis  to  designate  the  bird  itself  ; and  so  of  all  other  ob- 
jects that  are  actually  sensible,  or  supposed  to  be  so. 

(3.)  Hieroglyphics  tropical.  In  order  to  understand  this 
designation,  we  must  go  to  rhetoric,  from  which  it  is  borrow- 
ed, and  inquire  there  for  its  meaning.  It  is  there  employed 
to  designate  the  meaning  of  a word  which  is  not  employed  in 
its  literal  or  primaiy  sense,  but  in  a secondary  one,  viz.  one 
which  is  turned  (r£rç>07rcüç)  from  its  original  and  primitive 
meaning.  Thus  when  we  say,  God  is  our  shield,  the  word 
shield  here  is  not  to  be  taken  in  its  primary  and  literal  sense, 
but  in  a secondary  and  tropical  one  ; so  that  the  meaning  is, 
‘ God  is  our  defender.’ 

Now  if  we  call  (as  we  may  here  do  for  the  sake  of  illus- 
tration) hieroglyphics  figurative  by  the  name  of  hieroglyphics 


APPENDIX. 


205 


proper  (answering  therefore  to  words  literally  to  be  under- 
stood) ; then  we  may  easily  understand  what  is  meant  by 
hieroglyphics  tropical.  All  hieroglyphics  proper  are  simple 
imitations,  more  or  less  perfect,  more  or  less  entire,  of  the 
objects  which  they  signify  or  represent,  just  in  the  same 
manner  as  pictures  among  us  are  ideographic  signs,  i.  e.  they 
stand  for  the  objects  of  which  they  are  the  resemblances. 

Altogether  different  from  this  is  the  case,  when  hiero- 
glyphics are  the  signs  of  ideas  of  things  that  are  not  objects  of 
sense  ; or  when  they  are  the  signs  of  objects  very  different  in 
appearance  from  the  forms  of  the  hieroglyphics  which  desig- 
nate them.  In  all  cases  where  hieroglyphics  designate  either 
of  these,  they  are  tropical , i.  e.  the  designation  is  not  a matter 
of  imitation  or  of  proper  likeness  or  picture  ; but  one  which 
merely  has  some  analogy,  real  or  supposed,  imaginative,  con- 
ventional. Thus  when  the  figure  of  a lion  is  drawn  to  signify 
strength,  of  a fly  to  represent  impudence , of  a tree  to  designate 
an  obedient  people , etc.,  these  are  tropical  hieroglyphics.  A 
great  multitude  of  these  are  virtually  exhibited  on  the  coats  of 
arms  in  modern  times,  among  Europeans,  on  seals,  on  public 
monuments,  in  pictures,  etc.  The  Egyptians  employed  a 
large  number  of  hieroglyphics  in  this  way  ; and  intermixed 
them  with  the  hieratic  writing,  as  well  as  with  the  alphabetic 
hieroglyphic  writing.  Being  ideographic  signs  in  their  own 
nature,  they  would  often  be  employed  in  the  way  of  abridge- 
ment in  writing  ; and  especially  on  monuments,  where  abridge- 
ment is  so  generally  practised. 

Different  from  these  common  tropical  hieroglyphics  (not  in 
nature,  but  in  degree  and  use),  were  the  anaglyphical  ones, 
which  were  employed  as  stated  above.  For  the  most  part 
in  these,  the  resemblance  between  the  form  of  the  writing 
(if  it  may  be  so  called)  and  the  object  or  idea  designated,  was 
altogether  imaginary,  or  remote,  fantastic,  and  therefore  ob- 
scure. In  other  words,  it  was  a tropical  writing  of  the  most 
obscure  species.  Thus  an  eye  to  represent  Osiris  ; the  head 
or  some  part  of  an  animal  consecrated  to  other  gods  or  god- 
1 desses,  to  represent  them  ; a Nilometer  to  designate  Phtha  ; a 
| vulture  to  signify  maternity , etc.,  are  all  signs  which  may 


206 


APPENDIX. 


enter  into  the  component  parts  of  an  anaglyph.  When  a 
combination  of  these  is  drawn  together,  without  the  intermix- 
ture of  alphabetic  hieroglyphics  or  of  hieratic  letters,  then 
these  obscure  and  fantastic  tropical  hieroglyphics,  are  called 
anaglyphs , as  above  stated.  But  if  these  fantastic  forms  are 
used  singly , and  intermixed  (as  they  often  are)  with  the 
proper  alphabetic  hieroglyphic,  or  the  hieratic  writing,  then 
the  same  signs  are  no  longer  called  anaglyphs,  but  tropical 
hieroglyphics.  In  this  latter  case,  they  are,  for  the  most  part, 
very  easily  understood,  by  any  one  conversant  with  hiero- 
glyphic writing.  But  when  signs  of  this  sort  stand  in  mere 
combinations  with  each  other,  without  any  alphabetic  text 
intermingled,  they  are  difficult  indeed  to  be  understood  ; and 
they  could  not  have  been  generally  understood  among  the 
Egyptians  themselves,  but  only  by  the  hierophants  or  priests, 
whose  business  it  was  to  be  acquainted  with  them. 

I merely  repeat  here,  in  order  to  complete  this  view,  what 
has  been  before  said,  viz.  that  anaglyph  (draylvcpy)  means,  a 
carving  or  engraving  in  bas-relief, i.  e.  in  raised  or  swelled 
figures  ; and  that  the  groups  of  anaglyphs  were  usually  on  the 
bases  of  monuments,  ete.,  carved  in  this  way,  employed  at 
once  as  ornament  and  as  significant  of  some  object  to  which 
the  monument  itself  was  consecrated. 

Tropical  hieroglyphics , then,  according  to  the  above  repre- 
sentation, may  be  subdivided  into  those  which  are  plain , and 
constitute  parts  of  written  texts  ; and  those  which  are  obscure, 
and  stand  only  in  combined  symbolical  pictures.  The  latter 
division  may  be  surnamed  anaglyphs.  M.  S.J 


[ G.  p.  35.  ] 

Various  alphabets  of  the  Egyptians.  Comparison  of 
Egyptian  and  Chinese  characters. 

On  Plate  II.  the  reader  will  find  an  exhibition  of  a few  of 
each  of  the  three  species  of  writing  employed  by  the  Egyp- 
tians, the  hieroglyphic  pure  or  alphabetic,  the  hieratic , and  the 


APPENDIX. 


207 


demotic.  They  are  copied  from  the  alphabet  of  Champollion, 
entitled  Alphabet  Harmonique.  The  resemblance  between 
the  forms  here  copied  of  the  several  letters  in  the  different 
alphabets,  is  somewhat  striking  ; and  this  fact  furnishes  indu- 
bitable proof,  that  they  were  all  taken  from  the  same  original, 
or,  in  other  words,  that  they  were  all  at  first  proper  imitations 
of  the  same  objects.  But  as  in  forming  an  alphabet,  the 
proper  imitation  of  objects  would  be  too  long  and  tedious 
a process,  the  mere  outlines  would  next  be  given  ; then  gradu- 
ally, with  more  and  more  abbreviation,  marks  would  be  adopt- 
ed which  were  partly  figurative  and  partly  conventional  ; un- 
til finally,  alphabetic  signs  would  become  almost  entirely  ar- 
bitrary, though  still  a general  correspondence  with  their  orig- 
inals might  in  many  cases  be  preserved.  On  some  such  prin- 
ciples as  these,  Spineto  grounds  his  theory  with  regard  to  the 
formation  of  an  alphabet — a theory  which  makes  its  formation 
the  result  of  the  progressive  improvements,  made  in  process 
of  time,  and  by  a succession  of  individuals.  His  details  on 
this  subject  are  curious  and  interesting  ; see  Spineto,  Lect. 
vin.  ix.  For  doubts  in  regard  to  this  subject,  and  for  some 
striking  remarks  relative  to  it,  see  Champollion,  Précis , p. 
356,  § 17  seq. 

[There  are  some  striking  resemblances  between  the  Chi- 
nese signs  employed  in  writing,  and  the  Egyptian  hieroglyph- 
ics ; so  striking,  that  some  have  been  led  to  suppose,  that  one 
of  these  nations  must  be  a colony  of  the  other.  It  i3  now 
well  known  that  the  original  written  characters  of  the  Chi- 
nese, were  imitative  or  figurative  (like  the  figurative  hiero- 
glyphics spoken  of  above  in  Note  F.),  and  that  they  were  few 
in  number.  These  have,  in  process  of  time,  been  modified 
and  changed,  both  as  to  form  and  use,  so  that  scarcely  a 
vestige  now  remains  of  their  original  appearance  ; and  in 
some  cases,  of  original  usage.  All  the  Chinese  writing  was 
originally  ideographic  ; i.  e.  it  resembled  the  figurative  and 
tropical  hieroglyphic  method  of  the  Egyptians.  But  now,  as 
stated  by  that  excellent  Chinese  scholar,  Abel  Remusat,  in  his 
Chinese  Grammar , p.  4,  at  least  one  half  of  the  Chinese  char- 
acters are  merely  phonetic , or  alphabetic  in  the  sense  of 


208 


APPENDIX. 


syllabic.  These  the  Chinese  call  Hing-Ching,  i.  e.  represent- 
ing sound. 

In  the  next  place,  the  Chinese  have  an  order  of  characters, 
which  they  name  Hoei-i  and  Kia-tsiei , which  are  designed 
to  express  abstract  and  intellectual  ideas.  These  resemble 
of  course  (not  in  form  but  as  to  use),  the  tropical  hieroglyph- 
ics of  the  Egyptians. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  striking  differences 
between  the  hieroglyphic  system  of  writing  and  that  of  the 
Chinese.  The  Chinese  characters  are  divided  into  primitive 
or  simple,  and  derived  or  composite.  Of  the  first,  called 
Siang-hing,  which  make  the  elements  of  all  their  writing, 
there  are  only  about  two  hundred  (Remusat’s  Grammar,  p.  1, 
note  2)  ; while  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  amount  to  more 
than  eight  hundred  [Précis,  p.  267). 

The  derived  or  composite  characters  of  the  Chinese,  are 
exceedingly  numerous  ; and  in  these  are  combined  two  or 
more  simple  characters.  The  combination  oftentimes  is  very 
complex,  and  not  a little  difficult  for  a learner  to  decipher. 
These  are  called  Hoei-i.  On  the  contrary,  in  Egyptian,  the 
combination  of  proper  hieroglyphics  is  very  rare  ; indeed  it 
scarcely  ever  takes  place,  and  when  it  does,  it  is  in  such  a 
way,  that  the  elements  of  the  combination  are  preserved 
entirely  separate  ; as  for  example,  in  the  anaglyphs  above 
described. 

These  striking  points  of  difference  serve  to  show,  that 
although  the  figurative  hieroglyphics  of  the  Egyptians  and 
the  Siang-hing  or  original  simple  characters  of  the  Chinese, 
were  alike  (for  such  must  be  the  case  inasmuch  as  both  were 
pictures  or  imitations  of  sensible  objects)  ; yet  in  the  course 
which  the  two  nations  respectively  chose,  in  order  to  repre- 
sent abstract  and  intellectual  ideas,  there  was  a great  diver- 
sity. Hence  the  tropical  characters  of  the  Chinese,  com- 
pounded of  the  simple  ones  and  diversified  to  an  almost 
endless  extent,  are  very  different  from  the  tropical  characters 
of  the  Egyptians,  which  continued  to  be  simple  in  their 
structure,  and  in  general  incapable  of  combination. 

That  light  may  yet  be  cast  on  the  invention  of  proper 


APPENDIX. 


209 


alphabetic  signs,  from  a diligent  and  extensive  collation  of 
Egyptian  and  Chinese  characters,  and  a better  understanding 
of  the  true  nature  and  history  of  each,  every  lover  of  litera- 
ture will  continue  to  wish  and  to  hope.  M.  S.] 


[ H.  p.  37.  ] 

Number  of  Hieroglyphics. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  number  and  classification 
of  hieroglyphic  signs,  as  made  by  Champollion.  They  are 
divided  into  eighteen  different  classes,  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  objects  of  which  they  are  the  images. 


1.  Celestial  bodies, 10 

2.  Human  figures  in  various  positions,  . . . 120 

3.  Human  limbs,  comprising  hands,  and  arms, 

which  are  separate  from  the  body,  ...  60 

4.  Wild  quadrupeds, 24 

5.  Domestic  quadrupeds, 10 

6.  Limbs  of  animals, 22 

7.  Birds  and  parts  of  birds, 50 

8.  Fishes, 10 

9.  Reptiles  and  parts  of  reptiles, 30 

10.  Insects, 14 

11.  Vegetables,  plants,  flowers,  and  fruits,  . . 60 

12.  Buildings  of  various  kinds, 24 

13.  Furniture  and  objects  of  art, 100 

14.  Coverings  for  the  feet  and  legs,  head- 

dresses, sceptres,  ensigns,  and  ornaments,  80 

15.  Tools  and  instruments  of  various  sorts,  . . 150 

16.  Vases,  cups,  and  the  like, 30 

17.  Geometrical  figures, 20 

18.  Fantastic  forms, 50 


18* 


Total,  ...  864 


210 


APPENDIX* 


Doubtless  further  investigation  will  disclose  still  more,  and 
correct  the  estimate  of  some  which  have  been  classed  as 
above.  Not  a few  of  the  figures  are  occasionally  so  indis- 
tinct, that  one  can  hardly  be  certain  of  making  a correct 
classification. 


[ I.  p.  41.  J 

Mexican  Hieroglyphics. 

In  discussing  the  question  about  the  origin  of  hieroglyphics,, 
and  to  prove  that  “ the  first  mode  invented  by  mankind  to 
communicate  their  knowledge  to  posterity,,  or  to  absent  per- 
sons, was  a plain  and  simple  representation  of  the  things 
themselves  by  pictures,”  Spineto  adduces  several  examples 
of  this  kind  of  primitive  writing  by  painting.  Among  the 
rest,  he  describes  a specimen  which  he  saw  in  the  Library 
of  the  Escurial,  and  which  was  imported  to  Europe  by  a 
Mexican,  who  translated  it  into  Spanish.  The  title  of  the 
book  is,  “ History  of  the  Empire  of  Mexico , luith  Notes  and 
Explanations. ” An  account  of  it,  taken  from  Lect.  vii.,  is 
here  subjoined. 

“ The  translation  is  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first  is 
a history  of  the  Mexican  empire,  containing  the  biography 
and  conquests  of  not  less  than  eleven  kings  ; the  second  is  a 
regular  roll  of  the  several  taxes,  which  each  conquered  prov- 
ince or  town  paid  to  the  royal  treasury  ; and  the  third  a 
digest  of  their  civil  law,  the  largest  branch  of  which  was  of 
their  common  law  or  jus  p atrium. 

In  each  of  these  pictures,  every  king  is  represented  by 
different  characteristics  ; the  length  of  his  reign  is  marked 
by  squares  round  the  margin,  which,  when  the  reign  happens 
to  be  extremely  long,  fill  the  four  sides  of  the  picture.  In 
each  square  there  is  a small  circle  to  signify  the  year,  a mark 


APPENDIX. 


211 


which  they  repeat  according  to  its  number  till  they  reach 
thirteen,  after  which  they  begin  over  again  to  count  one  ; and 
under  these  small  circles  there  is  a kind  of  hieroglyphic 
figure,  which  is  repeated  in  every  fourth  square. 

In  all  the  pictures  that  exhibit  the  reign  of  each  king,  there 
is  a figure  which  shows  the  nature  of  his  government,  and, 
therefore,  vary  according  to  the  circumstances  and  the  events 
that  took  place  during  his  reign.  In  this  picture  it  is  a shield 
or  a target,  crossed  by  four  lances,  which  means  that  this 
king  subdued,  by  force  of  arms,  four  towns  or  people  ; they 
are  expressed  by  four  rough  drawings  of  a house,  to  which  a 
symbol,  or  hieroglyphic  figure,  denoting  the  name  of  each, 
has  been  attached.  In  the  first,  we  have  a tree  ; in  the 
second,  another  tree  of  a different  sort  ; in  the  third,  a 
kind  of  basket  ; in  the  fourth,  a sort  of  box,,  with  two  baskets. 
These  exhibitions  I am  unable  to  explain,  but  they  no  doubt 
were  perfectly  intelligible  to  the  people  ; and  perhaps  might 
have  had  a reference  to  the  natural  productions  of  the  sub- 
dued provinces* 

To  mark  the  beginning  of  the  reign,  and  the  different 
epochs  in  which  a king  performed  any  of  the  actions  men- 
tioned in  the  picture,  or  even  his  death,  they  painted  the 
figure  of  the  king,  with  his  characteristic  emblem,  which 
denotes  his  name,  opposite  to  the  year  in  which  the  event  had 
taken  place.  Thus,  in  this  picture,  the  king’s  name  is  said  to 
be  AcamapicktU , and  his  figure  is  repeated  twice  ; opposite 
the  first  square,  which  marks  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  and 
opposite  the  eighth  square,  which  shows,  that  in  the  eighth 
year  of  his  reign  he  put  to  death  the  chiefs  of  the  four  towns 
he  had  conquered.  This  circumstance  is  expressed  by  four 
heads  placed  before  him,  distinguished  by  the  same  hiero- 
glyphical  characters  which  mark  the  towns  or  provinces  over 
which  they  reigned.  Across  the  figure  of  the  king  there  is 
a kind  of  sash,  with  a knot  on  his  shoulder,  which,  by  its 
length  and  breadth,  means  the  number  of  wives  and  children 
he  had.  In  the  present  instance  it  seems  not  to  be  deficient 
in  either  of  these  dimensions.  I am  told  that  there  is  another 
mark  to  express  the  quality  and  number  of  children,  whether 


212 


APPENDIX. 


male  or  female  ; but,  to  confess  my  ignorance,  I could  never 
discover  it  ; although  I have  observed  all  the  pictures  of  the 
several  reigns  recorded  by  this  curious  piece  of  history,  with 
every  possible  attention. 

To  the  picture  of  each  reign,  a second  picture  was  invaria- 
bly attached,  which  indicated  the  other  actions  of  the  sove- 
reign as  a politician,  and  the  other  events  that  had  distinguish- 
ed his  government.  The  whole  account  given  by  Purchas 
is  curious,  and  highly  amusing. 

In  recording  the  tribute,  or  taxes,  which  each  town  had  to 
pay,  as  it  was  paid  in  kind,  it  seems  that  the  Mexicans  had 
adopted  the  plan  of  drawing  the  figure  of  the  object.  Thus, 
to  represent  a basket  of  cacao-meal,  or  of  any  other  sort  of 
corn,  they  drew  the  figure  of  a basket  containing  the  ears  of 
corn,  or  the  meal  extracted  from  the  fruit  of  that  tree,  or 
plant.  To  represent  suits  of  military  clothing,  armor,  or 
shields,  they  exhibited  their  respective  figures  ; the  different 
sorts  of  mantles,  whether  of  feathers  or  of  other  materials, 
were  signified  by  their  respective  figures,  differently  colored. 
The  number  of  each  article  was  expressed  either  by  circles, 
each  of  which  signified  ten,  or  by  a kind  of  pine-apple,  which 
meant  five,  painted  at  the  top  of  the  basket,  or  by  the  side  of 
each  individual  article  ; and  if  their  quantity  was  so  great  as 
to  amount  to  a burthen,  or  a load,  this  was  expressed  by 
another  mark,  which  had  the  same  signification.  The  like 
must  be  said  of  their  paper,  their  cups,  pots  of  honey,  cochi- 
neal, wood,  planks,  beams,  timber,  loaves  of  salt,  hatchets, 
lumps  of  copal,  refined  and  unrefined,  shells,  wool,  stones, 
canes  to  make  darts,  eagles,  skins  of  animals  ; in  short,  of 
every  thing  which  each  town  had  to  pay,  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  state. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  give  a minute  account  of 
their  civil  and  religious  institutions,  which  form  the  third, 
and  by  far  the  largest  department,  in  this  most  extraordinary 
picture.  Every  trade,  every  office,  every  employment,  is  dif- 
ferently delineated.  The  rites  attending  the  several  ceremo- 
nies of  burial,  marriage,  and  baptism  (for  they  certainly  had 
some  sort  of  baptism),  are  minutely  set  down.  But,  above  all, 


APPENDIX. 


213 


it  seems  that  the  education  of  children,  from  their  infancy  to 
manhood,  had  attracted  the  greatest  attention  of  their  legisla- 
ture. The  quantity  of  food,  the  quality  of  labor,  the  differ- 
ent pursuits  attached  to  each  distinct  age,  the  various  pun- 
ishments decreed  for  the  different  faults,  are  stated  with  a 
precision  and  clearness  which  is  quite  astonishing.  The  age 
of  the  child  can  always  be  made  out  from  the  number  of  cir- 
cles placed  above  its  head.  The  figure  of  the  mother,  and 
indeed  of  any  woman,  by  her  kneeling  posture,  and  sitting  on 
her  legs  ; while  the  figure  of  the  father,  the  priest,  the  teach- 
er, and  indeed  of  all  men,  besides  the  different  attributes, 
which  designate  the  employment,  is  always  represented  either 
standing,  or  sitting  on  a low  stool,  with  his  knees  to  his 
breast.” 

Spineto  here  introduces  as  a specimen,  a table,  which  rep- 
resents all  the  following  ceremonies  of  a marriage. 

“ This  [the  marriage]  was  generally  brought  about  by  an 
old  woman  whom  they  call  Amantesa , that  is,  a marriage 
broker,  who  was  to  carry  the  bride  on  her  back  to  the  house 
of  the  bridegroom,  at  the  beginning  of  the  night,  accompanied 
by  four  women  bearing  torches  of  pine  tree.  When  arrived 
at  the  house,  the  bride  and  the  bridegroom  were  seated  near 
to  the  fire,  on  a mat,  the  woman,  as  usual,  sitting  on  her  legs, 
the  man  on  a stool.  There  they  were  tied  together  by  the  cor- 
ner of  their  garments,  after  which  they  offered  to  their  gods  a 
perfume  of  copal  ; two  old  women,  and  two  old  men,  being 
present  as  witnesses.  This  ceremony  over,  they  were  allow- 
ed to  dine,  upon  two  different  sorts  of  meat,  and  some  pulse. 
Thus,  not  only  the  dishes  to  be  used  were  marked,  but  also 
the  cup  out  of  which  they  were  to  drink.  The  witnesses 
were  allowed  to  dine  after  the  newly  married  couple,  which 
circumstance  is  expressed  by  their  being  seated  at  the  four 
corners  of  the  mat,  which  served  for  a dining  table.  The 
sign  which  is  added  to  the  mouth  of  these  four  witnesses, 
signifies,  that  before  they  retired,  they  had  the  right  to  give, 
and  in  fact  they  gave,  to  the  married  folks,  good  counsel, 
how  to  behave  themselves,  that  they  might  live  in  peace  and 
happiness.  The  position  of  one  of  the  women,  holding  up  her 


214 


APPENDIX. 


right  hand,  means  that  the  portly  matron  is  already  making 
use  of  the  privilege  allowed,  to  give  a little  exercise  to  her 
tongue  ; while  the  folded  arms  of  the  remaining  witnesses 
prove  that  they  are  waiting  for  their  turn. 

In  the  punishment  of  their  children,  the  Mexicans  seem  to 
have  been  ingeniously  cruel.  Most  of  the  chastisements  I 
find  marked  down,  consist  in  unmerciful  castigations  ; in  driv- 
ing into  the  hands,  and  arms,  and  legs,  and  into  the  body  of 
the  culprit,  thorns  and  prickles.  Sometimes  they  singed  his 
head  with  fire,  at  other  times  they  tied  him  down  to  a board, 
and  threw  him  into  a bog  ; and  occasionally  they  held  the 
head  and  nose  of  the  unfortunate  child  upon  the  smoke  of  a 
particular  wood,  which  they  called  axi. 

The  crimes,  for  which  they  inflicted  punishments  so  severe 
and  so  cruel,  are  the  same  with  those  which  are  condemned 
by  the  laws  of  the  most  civilized  nations  of  Europe,  and  can- 
not but  inspire  us  with  a very  favorable,  nay,  exalted  opinion, 
of  the  moral  notions  of  the  Mexicans.  They  seem  even  to 
have  gone  beyond  us,  for  the  sake  of  preserving  proper  habits 
of  industry  and  morality  among  the  people  ; for  they  not  only 
punished  drunkenness  with  death,  but  also  idleness  ; for  if 
drunkenness,  said  they,  renders  a man  capable  of  committing 
a crime,  idleness  exposes  him  to  drinking  and  to  bad  company. 
This  law,  however,  lost  its  power  with  men  and  women  as 
soon  as  they  reached  the  age  of  seventy  ; they  were  then 
allowed  to  pass  their  lives  in  idleness,  and  to  get  drunk,  both 
in  public  and  in  private.  The  reason  assigned  for  this  extra- 
ordinary regulation  is,  that  as  they  could  no  longer  work,  and 
had  but  a short  time  to  live,  the  law  indulged  them  with  the 
enjoyment  of  what  seems  to  have  been  considered  by  the 
Mexicans,  as  one  of  the  greatest  pleasures  of  life. 

Such  is  the  short  account  that  I can  give  of  this  most  sin- 
gular mode  of  expressing  ideas  by  pictures,  which  is,  I think, 
an  exemplification  of  the  first  mode  of  writing  by  hieroglyph- 
ics. It  is,  besides,  one  of  the  most  interesting  monuments  by 
which  we  can  arrive  at  the  knowledge  of  the  history  of 
Mexico.  For  it  is  evident,  that,  from  the  wisdom  of  their 
regulations,  from  the  quantity  of  taxes  which,  as  is  recorded 


APPENDIX. 


215 


in  these  pictures,  were  levied  upon  the  different  towns  and 
nations,  from  the  minuteness  of  the  details,  and  from  the  pic- 
tures themselves,  which  show  some  knowledge  of  perspective 
and  drawing,  the  Mexicans  had  made  no  inconsiderable  pro- 
gress in  knowledge,  in  civilization,  and  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  arts.” 

[The  whole  of  the  above  symbols  much  more  resemble  the 
anaglyphs  of  the  Egyptians,  than  they  do  the  common  hiero- 
glyphics, figurative  or  tropical.  That  they  are  totally  diverse 
from  phonetic  hieroglyphics,  need  not  be  said.  The  combi- 
nation of  so  many  symbols,  some  of  which  have  no  resem- 
blance but  a merely  conventional  or  imaginary  one,  is  a trait 
altogether  of  a nature  similar  to  the  predominating  quality  of 
the  anaglyphs. 

There  is  some  special  interest  attached  to  the  subject  now 
before  us.  In  connection  with  what  has  been  before  said,  it 
shows  that  three  of  the  most  distinguished  nations,  of  three 
different  continents,  viz.  the  Chinese  in  Asia,  the  Egyptians 
in  Africa,  and  the  Mexicans  in  America,  have  all  hit  on  the 
like  expedients  to  transmit  their  ideas  to  posterity.  In  all 
these  facts,  too,  we  may  see  the  infancy  of  alphabetic  writing, 
the  germ  from  which  this  tree  sprung,  whose  leaves  are  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations.  M.  S.] 


t J.  p.  43.  ] 

In  regard  to  the  peculiar  class  of  symbolic  signs  referred  to 
by  M.  Greppo,  Spineto  has  the  following  remarks  (p.  258).  “ It 
is  from  this  third  mode  of  writing,  and  from  the  custom  of 
expressing  the  qualities  of  things  by  the  picture  of  visible' 
objects,  that  scholars  have  experienced  the  greatest,  if  not 
the  whole  difficulty  of  understanding  hieroglyphics  ; and  this 


216 


APPENDIX. 


difficulty  is  not  wholly  removed  by  the  recent  discoveries  ; 
for,  indeed,  we  are  not  yet  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the 
natural  history  of  ancient  Egypt,  or  with  the  prejudices  and 
notions  of  the  people,  to  be  able  to  ascertain  how  they  could 
find  any  similarity  between  two  objects,  in  which  we  find 
none.  Thus,  for  instance,  he  who  had  borne  his  misfortunes 
with  courage,  and  had  at  last  surmounted  them,  was  signified 
by  the  picture  of  a hyena,  because  the  skin  of  that  animal  was 
supposed  to  make  the  wearer  fearless  and  invulnerable.” 

The  symbolical  images  enumerated  by  Horapollo  in  his 
Hieroglyphica , confirmed  as  many  of  them  are  by  the  tes- 
timony of  inscriptions,  have  given  to  this  writer  a peculiar 
authority  in  whatever  concerns  the  meaning  of  recluse  hiero- 
glyphics. The  particular  period  in  which  he  wrote,  is  not 
known  ; but  his  work,  which  is  written  in  Greek,  is  in  itself  a 
very  curious  and  entertaining  book,  and  I have  translated 
from  it  indiscriminately  a few  pieces,  which  may  probably 
afford  some  gratification  to  the  inquisitive  reader.  They  are 
as  follows  : 

How  the  Egyptians  signify  eternity. 

To  signify  eternity,  they  paint  the  sun  and  moon,  because 
they  are  eternal  elements.  But  when  they  wish  to  express 
eternity  after  another  manner,  they  paint  a serpent,  whose 
tail  is  folded  and  concealed  under  a part  of  his  body.  The 
Egyptians  call  him  in  their  language  Ur  crus , but  the  Greeks 
call  him  Basilisk.  They  [the  Egyptians]  place  a golden 
image  of  this  same  serpent,  about  the  images  of  the  gods. 
They  say  that  this  animal  signifies  eternity  for  the  following 
reason  ; because  since  there  are  three  species  of  serpents, 
this  species  only  is  immortal,  the  rest  are  mortal  ; inasmuch 
as  this  serpent  kills  all  other  animals  merely  by  its  breath, 
and  without  even  stinging  them.  Hence,  since  it  possessed 
the  power  of  life  and  death,  it  was  deservedly  placed  upon 
the  heads  of  the  gods. 

How  they  signify  knowledge. 

To  indicate  knowledge,  they  paint  the  heavens  shedding 


APPENDIX* 


217 


down  dew,  signifying1  that  as  falling  dew  is  diffused  over  all 
plants,  and  makes  soft  and  pliable  only  those  which  in  their 
own  nature  are  capable  of  being  softened,  but  upon  those 
which  are  in  their  own  nature  hard  it  exerts  no  influence  ; 
so  knowledge  is  diffused  in  common  among  all  men,  but  only 
those  who  are  born  with  a happy  genius  seize  and  imbibe 
the  dew,  but  those  who  are  destitute  of  the  faculty  of  genius 
remain  strangers  to  its  influence. 

How  they  signify  à child. 

To  signify  a child,  they  paint  a chenalopex.  This  animal 
has  a peculiar  fondness  for  its  young.  If  at  any  time  they 
are  pursued  by  the  hunters,  and  their  young  are  with  them, 
both  the  father  and  mother  voluntarily  surrender  themselves 
to  the  pursuers,  in  order  that  their  young  may  be  preserved. 
For  this  reason  the  Egyptians  worshipped  this  animal. 

How  they  signified  impudence. 

To  denote  impudence,  they  painted  a fly,  because  this 
creature,  being  more  frequently  than  any  other  driven  away 
by  force,  still  persists  in  returning. 

How  they  denote  a grateful  mind. 

To  denote  a grateful  mind,  they  paint  a cucupha , [a  little 
bird  supposed  to  be  a houp,  or  lapwing,]  because  of  all  dumb 
animals  this  is  the  only  one  which,  after  it  has  been  nurtured 
by  its  parents,  treats  them  with  affection  and  favors  them 
when  they  are  grown  old.  In  the  place  where  it  was  nour- 
ished the  cucupha  builds  a nest  for  its  parents,  when  their 
wings  are  decayed,  and  administers  to  them  Food,  until,  be- 
coming new-fledged,  the  parents  are  able  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  Wherefore  the  cucupha,  among  the  Egyptians, 
was  made  a sign  and  ornament  of  the  divine  sceptres. 

How  they  denoted  an  impossibility. 

They  painted  the  feet  of  a man  walking  in  the  water, 
to  denote  an  impossibility,  and  sometimes  they  painted  a man 
walking  without  a head,  either  of  which  things  are  in  the 

19 


218 


APPENDIX. 


class  of  impossibilities,  and  therefore  are  well  selected  to 
denote  them. 

To  denote  strength , they  paint  the  foreparts  of  a lion, 
because  these  are  the  strongest  members  of  his  whole  body. 

An  armed  man  hurling  arrows,  signifies  a tumult  Two 
men  adorned  with  the  insignia  of  magistracy  signify  con- 
cord. When  they  wish  to  represent  a woman  who  troubles 
her  husband , they  paint  a weasel.  An  abandoned  man , they 
represent  by  a hog,  because  the  natures  of  both  are  alike. 
To  signify  an  old  man  who  is  a musician,  they  paint  a swan, 
because  when  growing  old  it  sings  most  sweetly. 

JVhat  they  signify  by  painting  a hawk. 

When  they  wish  to  denote  God,  or  sublimity,  or  humility, 
or  excellence,  or  blood,  or  victory,  they  paint  a hawk.  They 
use  it  as  a symbol  of  the  Deity,  because  this  animal  is  fruit- 
ful and  long  lived,  and  because  more  than  any  other  bird  it 
seems  to  be  an  image  of  the  sun,  since,  by  a certain  peculiar 
and  secret  power  of  its  nature,  it  can  keep  its  sight  fixed 
upon  the  rays  of  the  sun.  And  hence  it  arises,  that  physi- 
cians use  hawk-weed  to  cure  diseases  of  the  eyes.  Hence 
also,  when  they  sometimes  paint  the  sun  as  the  author  and 
ruler  of  sight,  they  make  use  of  the  form  of  a hawk.  But 
they  use  this  bird  to  denote  sublimity,  because,  while  all 
other  birds  when  they  attempt  to  rise  into  the  air  advance 
obliquely  and  cannot  rise  straight  up,  this  bird  only  soars  per- 
pendicularly aloft.  They  use  this  bird,  moreover,  to  denote 
humility  or  dejection,  because  while  other  birds  in  their  de- 
scent from  the  air  move  transversely  and  with  windings  and 
turnings,  and  do  not  move  perpendicularly,  the  hawk  only 
takes  a direct  course  downwards.  They  use  this  bird  to 
denote  excellence,  because  this  bird  seemed  to  excel  all  other 
birds.  They  used  the  hawk  to  denote  blood,  because  they 
say  this  bird  drinks  blood,  and  not  water.  They  used  this 
bird  to  denote  victory,  because  it  seemed  to  conquer  all  other 
birds.  For  when  the  hawk  sees  itself  oppressed  by  the 


APPENDIX. 


219 


power  of  a stronger  animal,  it  will  turn  its  belly  upward 
in  the  air,  so  that  its  talons  are  directed  upward,  but  its 
wings  and  the  posterior  parts  of  its  body  are  directed 
downwards  ; in  this  situation  its  opponent,  when  coming  to 
attack  the  hawk,  cannot  meddle  with  it,  and  the  hawk 
easily  puts  its  enemy  to  flight,  and  gains  the  victory  for 
itself. 

They  used  a serpent  to  signify  a mouth , because  a ser- 
pent has  no  member,  except  a mouth.  The  finger  of  a man 
denotes  measurement.  When  they  wished  to  denote  a 
woman  who  is  betrothed , they  paint  the  circle  of  the  sun,  ac- 
companied by  a star,  the  disk  of  the  sun  itself  being 
divided  into  two  parts.  When  they  wish  to  represent  a man 
ivho  rejoices  in  dancing  and  in  the  sound  of  flutes , they  paint 
a turtle  bird,  for  this  is  also  captivated  with  the  flute  and  with 
dancing.  When  they~wfsh  to  denote  an  old  man  who  per- 
ishes ivith  hunger , they  paint  an  eagle  with  a crooked  beak. 
The  beak  of  this  bird,  when  it  grows  old,  becomes  crooked, 
and  it  perishes  with  hunger. 

[The  reader  will  take  the  deeper  interest  in  these  extracts, 
when  he  recognizes  the  fact,  that  Horapollo  the  author  of 
them,  was  himself  an  Egyptian  ; in  all  probability  an  Egyp- 
tian priest.  He  is  called  by  his  Greek  translator  JVsilœoç, 
i.  e.  of  Nile.  The  meaning  of  this  is,  doubtless,  of  the  city  of 
]\relXoç  ; for  Neiloç  was  not  the  exclusive  name  of  the  river 
of  Egypt,  but  also  of  a city  and  of  a temple.  So  says  Heca- 
tssus,  in  Stephanus  De  Urbibus. 

The  name  Horus  Apollo  or  Horapollo , as  it  comes  to  us, 
one  can  scarcely  refrain  from  believing,  is  a compound  of  the 
Egyptian  Horus , and  the  Greek  Apollo  ; which  latter  was 
only  the  Greek  name  of  the  Egyptian  god  Horus. 

When  the  writer  lived,  cannot  be  ascertained.  But  his  Greek 
translator,  Philippus , seems,  from  his  style,  to  have  lived  in 
an  age  when  the  Greek  had  greatly  declined,  as  his  book  is 
full  ofbarbarisms  ; e.  g.  oqSivov  for  the  Latin  ordo , mxTQwv a 
for  patronus,  etc.  But  imperfect  as  our  critical  information 


220 


APPENDIX. 


is,  in  respect  to  the  origin  of  the  book  and  the  time  when  it 
was  composed,  still,  it  cannot  but  be  a matter  of  great  curi- 
osity, to  see  the  explanation  of  hieroglyphs  and  anaglyphs, 
by  a native  Egyptian.  That  the  translation  of  Philippus  is 
quite  literal,  there  is  every  probability  from  its  appearance. 

I add  merely,  that  the  edition  before  me  of  Horapollo,  was 
printed  at  Paris  in  1647,  and  edited  by  N.  Caussinus  (Caus- 
sin)  e Societate  Jesu.  It  contains  87  quarto  pages,  one  half 
of  which  is  a Latin  translation.  Notes  are  added  by  the 
editor,  which  are  of  some  value,  but  not  very  important. 

M.  S.1 


[ K.  p.  45.  ] 


Choice  of  forms  in  Hieroglyphic  Writings 

A striking  feature  of  hieroglyphics,  is  the  great  number  of 
different  signs  which  were  employed  to  express  the  same 
letter.  The  letter  S,  for  instance,  is  expressed  by  fourteen 
different  signs  ; the  letter  O,  by  twelve  ; the  letters  L or  R, 
by  ten  ; the  letter  K,  by  eleven  ; the  letter  T,  by  eleven,  &c. 
This  circumstance  and  the  occasional  use  of  the  same  signs 
to  express  different  letters,  would  seem  at  first  sight  to 
involve  the  subject  of  hieroglyphics  in  much  perplexity, 
and  to  render  vain  all  attempts  to  decypher  their  certain 
meaning. 

On  pp.  370  and  371  of  his  Precis , Champollion  has  ex- 
pressed his  ideas  on  this  subject,  and  has  given  illustrations 
of  them.  His  views  are  in  the  main  as  follows. 

He  says  ; “ It  was  the  object  of  the  Egyptians  to  symbolize 
an  idea  by  means  of  characters  ivhich  should  themselves  repre- 
sent the  first  sound  of  words , which  were  a sign  of  this  idea 
in  the  spoken  language.  Consequently,  to  write  the  princi- 


APPENDIX. 


221 


pal  sounds  and  all  the  articulations  of  a word,  they  could 
choose  from  among  the  various  homophonous  characters  which 
they  were  at  liberty  to  employ,  those  which  by  their  form 
represented  physical  objects,  that  had  a direct  or  conventional 
relation  to  the  idea  which  these  characters  were  to  express.” 

To  distinguish  each  letter  of  a word,  the  Egyptians  em- 
ployed those  objects  the  names  of  which  began  with  that  veinj 
letter.  Thus  the  hawk  was  called  in  Egyptian  ahé  ; it  was 
therefore  taken  to  represent  the  letter  a : thus  the  mouth  was 
called  ro  ; it  was  therefore  taken  to  represent  the  letter  r,  &c. 
If  the  reader  will  remember  this,  he  will  understand  the 
following  illustrations  which  Champollion  gives  of  the  remark 
we  have  already  quoted  from  him. 

“ To  express  the  Coptic  word  si  or  sê,  which  means  a son , 
a child , an  offspring , the  Egyptians,  from  among  all  the  signs 
of  the  letter  s , employed  in  preference  either  an  egg  (in  the 
Egyptian  language  souh),  or  a seed  (in  Egyptian  siti),  or  a 
grain  of  wheat  (in  Egyptian  souo). 

The  lion,  which  among  all  people  who  are  acquainted  with 
this  superb  animal,  is  a figurative  sign  of  power  and  courage, 
is  found  in  the  names  and  titles  of  the  Lagidæ  and  of  the 
Roman  sovereigns,  to  express  the  letter  L or  R.”  The  reader 
will  observe  that  it  is  also  employed  in  the  name  of  Ptolemy 
to  express  the  letter  L,  and  it  is  there  used  also  as  a symbol 
of  the  courage  and  power  of  a king. 

“In  the  cartouches  of  Tiberius  Claudius , engraved  upon 
the  portico  at  Esne,  which  was  consecrated  to  the  god 
Chnoubis,  the  B of  the  word  Tiberius  is  represented  by  a 
ram,  an  animal  which  was  the  proper  symbol  of  this  principal 
god  of  the  temple  ; while  the  letter  B of  the  same  word 
Tiberius,  is  expressed  by  very  different  signs  in  the  engra- 
vings of  the  temple  at  Dendera,  which  was  consecrated  to 
the  goddess  Athor,  the  Egyptian  Venus.  In  the  word 
6uaioç,  which  means  august , venerable,  adorable , the  letter 
B is  usually  represented  b}r  a box  of  frankincense,  which  was 
employed  in  performing  adorations.  The  letter  A,  in  many' 
of  the  names  and  titles  of  the  Roman  emperors,  is  represented 
19* 


222 


APPEND  rx. 


by  an  eagle  [in  Egyptian  akhorn ],  which  was  a Known  symbol7 
of  Roman  power.” 

The  subject  of  this  note  can  perhaps  be  made  still  more 
intelligible,  by  the  following  illustration. 

Suppose  we  wished  to  write  the  name  AMERICA  hiero- 
glyphically  ; then  for  an  alphabet  we  should  have  various 
objects,  the  first  letters  of  which  would  represent  the  several 
letters  of  the  word  America.  For  example,  the  letter  A 
might  be  represented  by  the  figure  of  an  anchor , or  of  an 
ant,  or  of  an  alligator , or  of  an  arch  ; the  letter  M by  the 
m figure  of  a mountain,  or  of  a man,  or  of  the  planet  Mercui'y , 
of  the  moon , or  of  a mouth  ; the  letter  E by  the  figure  of  an 
eye,  or  of  an  ear,  or  of  an  eagle,  or  of  an  edifice  f the  letter  R 
by  the  figure  of  a rabbit,  or  of  a rattlesnake,  or  of  a reaping- 
hook,  or  of  a rudder  ; the  letter  I by  the  figure  of  an  infant,  or 
of  an  Indian,  or  by  the  mark  of  infinity  ; the  letter  C by  the- 
figure  of  a circle,  or  of  a cat,  or  of  a cannon,  or  of  a column,  or 
of  a coffin , or  of  a chair  ; the  letter  A again,  if  repeated,  might 
be  represented  by  the  same  figure  as  before. 

Now  to  write  the  letters  of  the  word  AMERICA  by  signs 
which  should  also  be  symbols  of  ideas,  from  among  all  the 
hieroglyphic  signs  of  the  letter  A,  we  might  perhaps  prefer 
the  figure  of  an  anchor,  to  convey  the  idea  of  a vessel, 
and  thus  of  commerce  which  contributes  so  largely  to  our 
wealth,  and  of  a navy  which  affords  us  protection  and  security 
from  foreign  aggression.  For  the  letter  M,  we  might  select 
either  a mountain,  as  symbolical  of  the  lofty  heights  so  fre- 
quent in  our  country  ; or  a mouth,  which  signifying  figura- 
tively freedom  and  boldness  of  speech,  might  convey  some 
idea  of  the  nature  of  our  government.  For  the  letter  E we 
should  prefer  the  figure  of  an  eagle,  which  appears  on  every 
American  standard,  as  a towering  emblem  of  our  country.. 
Again,  for  the  letter  R we  might  choose  a reaping  hook,  as 
significant  of  the  gathering  in  of  corn  and  grain  and  other 
crops,  and  thus  a symbol  of  agriculture,  in  which  so  large  a 
part  of  the  population  of  our  country  are  employed.  For  the 
letter  I,  we  might  take  either  the  image  of  an  infant,  which 
being  emblematical  of  the  first  age  of  anything,  might  repre- 


APPENDIX. 


223 


sent  our  yet  early  existence  as  a nation  ; or  the  image  of  an 
Indian,  which  would  convey  an  idea  of  the  primitive  inhabi- 
tants of  the  American  continent,  and  the  associated  idea  of  our 
forefathers,  whose  contact  with  them  was  so  frequent  and 
often  so  fearful.  For  the  letter  C we  might  choose  a circle 
as  an  emblem  of  duration,  or  a cannon , as  an  emblem  of  past 
conflict,  or  of  preparedness  to  defend  rights  which  were  pur- 
chased at  the  expense  of  blood.  The  last  A it  would  be 
unnecessary  to  repeat,  or  if  repeated  the  same  figure  might 
be  used  as  before.  In  this  way  the  word  AMERICA,  written 
hieroglyphically,  would  be  represented  by  an  anchor , a moun- 
tain or  a mouth , an  eagle , a reaping-hook , an  infant  or  an  In- 
dian, and  lastly  a circle  or  a cannon . 


[ L.  p.  49.  ] 

Grammatical  Forms,. 

Some  of  the  hieroglyphics  which  represent  the  most  impor- 
tant grammatical  forms,  are  here  subjoined.  They  are  copied 
from  Spineto  (Lect.  v_). 

“ The  marks  of  the  genders  are, — a square,  either  plain  or 
striated,  for  the  masculine,  and  half  a circle,  for  the  feminine. 
The  plural  is  almost  invariably  expressed  by  a simple  repeti- 
tion of  the  [hieroglyphical]  units  ; to  these  units  sometimes  is 
added  a quail  ; all  of  these  stand  for  the  syllable  noue , or  oue , 
which  is  the  termination  added  to  the  plural.  For  instance, 
the  word  soten  signifies  king,  and  by  the  addition  of  noue  we 
have  so-tenoue  kings  ; noyte  god,  noytenoue  gods  ; and  the  like. 

In  regard  to  the  genders,  it  seems  the  Egyptians  also  ex- 
pressed them  by  employing  the  pronouns  of  him , of  her  ; and 
these  pronouns  were  represented  by  the  figure  of  an  undulating 
line  over  a serpent,  or  over  a broken  line.  In  the  first  in- 


224 


APPENDIX. 


stance  the  group  represented  the  pronoun  his,  or  of  Mm, 
which,  in  Coptic,  was  nev  or  nef  ; in  the  second  instance,  the 
group  stood  for  the  pronoun  her's,  or  of  her,  which  in  Coptic 
was  called  nes .”  These  terminations,  or  an  abbreviation  of 
them,  if  added  to  hieroglyphic  expressions,  would  make  them 
either  of  the  masculine  or  feminine  gender.  “ For  example, 
the  chenalopex,  that  is  the  goose,  or  the  egg,  are  the  phonetic 
hieroglyphics  expressing  the  ward  child, — for  both  of  them 
represent  the  letter  S,  which  is  an  abbreviation  of  the  word 
se  or  tse,  son,  child.  Therefore  if  to  the  bird  or  to  the  egg 
we  add  the  figure  of  the  serpent,  or  the  broken  line,  we  shall 
have,  in  the  first  instance,  the  group  signifying  son  of  him , or 
his  son  ; and  in  the  second,  son  of  her,  or  her  son* 

The  genitive  case  is  expressed  mostly  by  an  undulating 
line  added  to  a group.  This  hieroglyphic  stands  for  the  let- 
ter N,  and  on  those  occasions  is  taken  as  an  abbreviation  of 
the  syllable  nen,  which  is  the  invariable  termination  of  the 
genitive  case  in  the  Coptic  language. 

The  Egyptians  distinguished  the  third  person  singular  of 
the  present  tense  in  the  same  way  as  we  do  in  the  English 
language,  by  adding  the  letter  s to  the  word — such  as  he  does, 
he  writes.  The  figure  of  the  serpent  which  stands  for  the 
letter  S,  is  a mark  of  the  third  person  singular  of  the  present 
tense.”  Champollion  has  found  a number  of  other  hiero- 
glyphics which  exhibit  the  inflections  of  verbs,  but  they  are 
not  yet  all  accurately  determined.  “The  passive  participle 
was  represented  by  two  hieroglyphics,  the  horn,  and  the  half 
circle.  The  pronoun  this,  was  exhibited  by  a vase  and  a per- 
pendicular line.  The  pronoun  ioho  or  ivhich,  is  represented 
by  a vase  and  half  a circle.  Such  are  some  of  the  principal 
and  most  important  grammatical  forms  or  phrases.” 

[ The  importance  of  understanding  these  to  such  as  intend 
to  read  hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  is  sufficiently  plain.  No 
connected  discourse  can  be  made  out,  without  a familiar 
knowledge  of  them.  M.  S.] 


APPENDIX. 


225 


[ M.  p.  61.  ] 

Brief  notices  of  the  Egyptian  Mythology. 

The  origin  of  the  world  from  a dark  primitive  chaos,  is  a 
dogma  belonging  not  only  to  almost  all  the  Oriental  nations 
and  to  many  of  the  Greek  schools,  but  it  was  fully  believed  by 
the  ancient  Egyptians.  Mind  and  Matter  were  supposed  by 
them  to  have  co-existed  from  all  eternity,  and  it  was  the  in- 
fluence of  Mind  upon  Matter,  which  reduced  the  latter  to 
form,  and  brought  it  forth  from  darkness  to  light.  The  an- 
cient Egyptian  philosophers  all  represent  this  Mind  as  infinite 
and  eternal  ; as  presiding  over  all  other  gods,  both  spiritual 
and  material  ; as  having  given  origin  to  the  world,  and  as 
governing  and  penetrating  through  all  nature.  This  supreme 
Mind,  was  the  Demiurgos  of  the  Egyptians,  their  god  Am- 
mon. 

It  would  be  interesting  here,  to  trace  out  the  analogy  be- 
tween the  philosophy  of  the  Greeks  and  Egyptians,  about  the 
origin  of  the  world  and  of  the  souls  of  men.  But  we  can  only 
advert,  at  present,  to  a few  traits.  The  theory  of  Orpheus 
about  an  immense  egg  of  matter,  from  which,  by  the  fiery 
nature  of  Spirit,  the  world  was  hatched,  was  borrowed  from 
the  Egyptians,  and  was  carried  by  him  from  Egypt  into 
Greece,  where  it  became  the  basis  of  the  Stoical  system  of 
active  and  passive  principles.  Again,  that  belief  in  the  spir- 
itual origin  of  the  soul,  which  may  be  traced  in  much  of  the 
philosophy  of  Greece,  sometimes  in  a pure  form,  and  some- 
times more  or  less  adulterated,  was  also  an  important  dogma 
of  the  Egyptians,  though  by  them  it  was  blended  with  the 
doctrine  of  metempsychosis.  Jablonski,  after  collecting 
strong  evidence  of  this  fact  from  ancient  writers,  thus  de- 
scribes the  views  which  the  Egyptians  had  of  the  soul  ; 
“ Nempe  Anima,  secundum  Ægyptios,  erat  to  ôeïov,  Divini- 
tas , vel  Essentia  Divina,  quæ  a sede  suâ  veluti  delapsa,  ali- 


226 


APPENDIX. 


quamdiu  per  homines  et  animalia  transibat,  donee  ad-pristi- 
num  locum  rediret.”  (Pantheon  Egyptiacum , p.  32.) 

All  the  animated  part  of  creation  being  distinguished  by 
sexes,  and  the  Egyptians  regarding  nature  as  productive  and 
animated,  they  were  thus  led  gradually  to  transfer  their 
notions  of  gender  to  Ammon,  who  generated  all  things.  In 
one  point  of  view,  however,  they  acknowledged  both  a male, 
and  female  principle  in  this  supreme  god  of  their  theogony. 
One  of  the  symbols  made  use  of  to  represent  Ammon  was  the 
head  of  a ram,  or  a ram  holding  between  his  horns  a circle.* 
Wherever  either  of  these  symbols  occurred,  this  deity  was 
called  Nef  JYouv , or  Chnouphis, f JYoub  or  Chnoubis  ; all  which 
appellations  are  proved,  by  Champollion  and  by  M.  Letronne, 
to  signify  one  and  the  same  attribute  of  Ammon,  viz.  his  male 
nature.  In  this  form,  Spineto  remarks,  that  “he  was  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  modifications  or  rather  an  emanation,  of 
the  great  Demiurgos,  the  primitive  cause  of  all  moral  and 
physical  blessings.  He  was  then  called  the  Good  Genius  ; 
the  male  origin  of  all  things  ; the  spirit  which,  by  mixing 
itself  in  all  its  parts,  animated  and  perpetuated  the  world.” 
Virgil  describes  him  very  well  in  his  Æneid,  Lib.  vi.  726  : 

Spiritus  intus  alit,  iotamque  infusa  per  artus 
Mens  agitat  molem,  et  toto  se  corpore  miscet. 

He  is  sometimes  symbolically  represented  by  a large 
serpent,  which  designates  him  as  the  spirit  who  flows  through 
the  whole  earth.  It  is  this  spirit  to  whom  Horapollo  refers  in 
the  following  passage.  c'Outm  ttuq  avroiç  zê  navioç  to 
ôit[xov  soil  Tivev pot.  (Hieroglyph,  Lib.  i.  cap.  64.)  In  this 
form  he  is  called  Agathodœmon  by  the  Greeks. 

The  female  principle  in  nature  was  represented  by  the 
goddess  Neith,  another  emanation  from  the  Demiurgos. 
“ This  goddess,”  says  Spineto,  “ occupied  the  superior  part  of 
the  heavens,  inseparable  from  the  first  principle,  and  was 

* The  names  of  all  the  divinities  whom  we  shall  mention,  are  rep- 
sented  phonetically,  figuratively,  and  symbolically.  We  shall  select 
only  now  and  then  from  these  representations. 

t Chnoupbis  in  the  old  Egyptian  language  signifies  good. 


APPENDIX. 


227 


considered  also  as  presiding  over  the  moral  attributes  of  the 
mind.  Hence  wisdom,  philosophy,  and  military  tactics,  were 
departments  that  had  been  attributed  to  her,  and  this  con- 
sideration persuaded  the  Greeks  to  look  upon  her  as  their 
Minerva , who  was  regarded  as  equally  the  protectress  of  wise 
men  and  warriors.” 

The  similarity  between  the  Egyptian  JYeith  and  the  Minerva 
of  the  Greeks,  is  indeed  very  striking,  and  goes  far  to  prove 
that  the  Greeks  derived  their  goddess  from  Egypt.  Besides 
the  identity  of  their  offices,  both  presiding  over  philosophy 
and  war,  the  origin  of  both  is  similar.  The  Neith  of  the 
Egyptians  was  an  emanation  from  Ammon,  their  supreme 
god  ; the  Minerva  of  the  Greeks  sprung  from  the  brain  of 
Jupiter,  the  supreme  god  of  the  Grecian  mythology.  Accord- 
ing to  St.  Croix,  Egyptian  colonies  from  Sais  carried  over 
the  ceremonies  of  Neith  to  Athens,  where  she  became  the 
’AdrjvT]  of  the  Greeks  (the  Minerva  of  the  Latins).  At  the 
period  when  she  was  introduced  into  Athens,  the  partisans 
of  Neptune  suffered  severe  persecution,  and  Neptune  was 
entirely  supplanted  by  Neith.  This  fact  gave  rise  to  the 
fable  about  the  contest  between  this  goddess  and  Neptune. 

The  goddess  Neith  was  symbolically  represented  by  a vul- 
ture, which  is  the  usual  image  of  maternity.  Her  peculiar 
place  of  worship  was  in  the  city  of  Sais,  where  she  had  mag- 
nificent temples,  one  of  the  propylæums  of  which,  on  account 
of  the  enormous  size  of  the  stones  and  colossal  statues,  is  said 
“to  excel  every  thing  of  the  kind  before  seen  in  magnificence 
and  grandeur.”  The  following  inscription  in  hieroglyphics 
upon  one  of  her  temples,  is  very  remarkable  both  “ as  giving 
a sublime  idea  of  the  creating  power  of  nature,”  and  as  pre- 
senting a striking  correspondence  with  the  idea  given  in 
Scripture  of  the  Supreme  Being.  It  is  thus  interpreted  by 
Champollion  : “I  am  all  that  has  been,  all  that  is,  all  that  will 
he.  No  mortal  has  ever  raised  the  veil  which  conceals  me  ; and 
the  fruit  I have  produced  is  the  sun.”  Jablonski  establishes  the 
fact,  that  the  priests  of  Sais  regarded  Neith,  as  the  priests  of 
Memphis  and  of  Thebes  regarded  Ammon  Chnouphis,  viz.,  as 


228 


APPENDIX. 


the  mens  aeternn  ac  opifex .*  To  this  Spirit  was  attributed  the 
origin  and  manner  of  all  existences,  and  to  its  decree  and 
ordination  every  thing  was  referred,  as  to  its  cause.  To  this 
Spirit  too,  the  reader  will  recollect,  was  attributed  an  exist- 
ence from  and  through  all  eternity,  and  a dwelling  in  the 
upper  world  far  above  and  beyond  the  vision  of  men.  The 
correspondence  then  between  the  two  first  phrases  of  the 
inscription  at  Sais,  and  the  following  passages  employed  in 
Scripture  to  designate  the  Deity,  will  appear  very  striking. 
Which  was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come  (Rev.  iv.  8).  The  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever  (Heb.  xiii.  8).  I am  that  I am 
(Exod.  iii.  14).  JYo  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time  (John  i.  18). 
Who  only  hath  immortality , dwelling  in  the  light  which  no  man 
can  approach  unto  ; ivhom  no  man  hath  seen  or  can  see  (1  Tim. 
vi.  16).  While  upon  this  subject  we  cannot  but  notice  another 
description  of  the  Supreme  Being,  analogous  to  that  in  Scrip- 
ture. It  occurs  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindoos,  called  the 
Vedas.  Speaking  of  Vishnoo  the  supreme  god  of  the  Hindoo 
mythology,  it  is  said  “All  which  has  been,  all  which  is,  and  all 
which  will  be,  are  in  Vishnoo.  He  illuminates  every  thing,  as 
the  sun  illuminates  the  world. f Amid  the  gross  and  materi- 
alizing views  which  pervaded  many  of  the  religious  systems 
of  the  ancient  world,  it  is  pleasing  to  find  some  at  least  recog- 
nizing the  spiritual  existence  of  one  Infinite  Mind.  This  seems 
very  evidently  to  be  the  case  with  the  system  of  the  Hindoos  ; 
and  among  the  Egyptians,  though  material  gods  and  goddesses 
emerged  from  the  sun  and  moon,  the  zodiac,  and  whole  plane- 
tary system,  to  throng  their  mythology  ; though  they  conjec- 
tured that  various  divine  personages  emanated  from  Ammon 
himself,  and  this  in  the  gross  way  of  heathenish  conceit  ; still 
they  had  some  pure  conceptions  of  a Supreme  Deity.  Such 
facts  go  far  to  prove  something  like  a religious  instinct  in 
man,  a nature  which,  however  degraded  he  may  be,  implants 
the  conviction  of  an  exalted  Power,  and  leads  him  to  express 


* Pantheon  Egyptiacum.  Lib.  i.  cap.  iii. 
t See  Recherches  du  Paganisme , by  de  Sacy.  Vol.  n.  De  Trip 
lid  Theologia  mysteriisque  commentatio.  p.  45. 


APPENDIX. 


229 


bis  views  of  it  by  some  dim  and  imperfect  emblems.  But  we 
must  proceed  to  notice  other  gods  of  the  Egyptian  mythology. 

The  god  PhthcL,  whose  image  Champollion  has  found  always 
sculptured  near  the  image  of  Ammon  Chnouphis,  on  the  bas- 
reliefs  of  Thebes,  Ipsamboul,  Edfou,  Ombos,  and  Philoe,  be- 
longed to  the  family  of  Ammon,  and  was  the  son  of  Ammon 
Chnouphis.  He  is  symbolically  represented  by  a human  form 
with  the  head  of  a hawk,  by  a peculiar  cap  or  head-dress,  and 
sometimes  simply  by  a hawk  holding  an  emblematical  head- 
dress. His  functions  are  thus  described  by  Spineto  (p.  129). 
“He  was  the  god  to  whom  the  priests  attributed  the  organi- 
zation of  the  world,  and  consequently,  the  invention  of  philoso- 
phy, the  science  which  exhibits  the  laws  and  conditions  of 
the  very  nature  he  had  organized.  He  was  considered  as  the 
founder  of  the  dynasties  of  Egypt  [in  the  fabulous  age  of 
Egyptian  history],  and  the  Pharaohs  had  consecrated  to  him 
the  royal  city  of  Memphis,  the  second  capital  of  the  empire, 
where  he  had  a magnificent  temple  superbly  embellished,  in 
which  the  grand  ceremony  of  the  inauguration  or  installation 
©f  the  Egyptian  kings  was  splendidly  performed  ; and  he  was 
also  considered  as  their  protector,  by  the  titles  they  had  as- 
sumed of  Beloved  of  PMha , Approved  of  Phtha , and  the  like. 
Under  one  form,  in  which  Phtha  is  called  Socari , he  is  con- 
nected with  the  Egyptian  Amenti . 

Phtha  was  assimilated  by  the  Greeks,  to  their  " Hcpaiurog 
(Vulcan).  Spineto  thinks  he  was  “a  very  superior  being  to 
this  blacksmith.”  But  there  is  an  evident  resemblance  in 
their  functions.  Diodorus  Siculus  states,  that  the  Egyptian 
priests  regarded  Phtha  as  the  inventor  of  fire,  and,  as  ha3 
been  already  remarked,  he  was  the  great  artist  of  the  earth. 
So  Vulcan  was  regarded  by  the  Greeks,  as  the  god  who  pre- 
sided over  fire,  and  as  a great  artist,  whose  forges  were  situa- 
ted in  various  parts  of  the  earth.  Champollion  remarks,  “that 
many  passages  in  ancient  authors  attest  the  fact  that  one  of 
the  principal  gods  in  Egypt,  who  was  likened  by  the  Greeks 
to  their  c' Hepuicnog,  bore  the  name  of  Phtha  in  the  language 
of  Egypt.”  Among  other  evidence  of  this  fact,  he  cites  the 
Rosetta  inscription,  and  an  old  Theban  Coptic  homily,  com- 
20 


230 


APPENDIX. 


posed  by  S.  Schenouti , which  designate  " Hcpoucrzog  andPhtha 
as  the  same  god  (Précis  p.  149 — 151). 

The  divinities  whom  we  have  now  described,  were  among 
the  principal  of  those  who  inhabited  the  upper  world,  and  who 
are  ranked  in  the  first  class  of  Egyptian  gods.  But  the  Egyp- 
tians supposed  the  earth  itself  to  be  subject  more  directly  to 
the  power  of  gods,  who  were  visible.  The  most  important 
among  these  was  the  sun,  which  luminary,  on  account  of  its 
being  the  source  of  so  many  blessings,  has  among  almost  all 
heathen  nations  been  worshipped  as  a god.  Its  influence  in 
promoting  the  alternation  of  day  and  night,  and  the  change  of 
seasons,  in  reanimating  nature,  and  in  maturing  the  products 
of  the  earth  ; its  appearance  in  the  heavens,  being  the  most 
brilliant  luminary  upon  which  the  eye  of  man  is  fastened  ; — 
all  these  circumstances  led  the  Egyptians  to  consider  the  sun 
as  the  deity  who  presided  over  the  physical  universe,  and  as 
“ the  eye  of  the  world.”  One  manner  in  which  he  was  hiero- 
glyphically  represented  was  by  a globe,  which  was  usually  of 
a reddish  hue,  and  stood  upon  the  head  of  a hawk.  He  was 
called  in  the  Egyptian  language  Re  or  Ri,  and  derived  his 
origin  from  Phtha,  whose  son  he  is  often  called,  and  whom 
he  succeeded,  according  to  the  priests,  in  the  government  of 
Egypt.  “ In  consequence  of  this  belief,”  says  Spineto,  u all 
the  Egyptian  kings,  from  the  earliest  Pharaohs  to  the  last  of 
the  Roman  emperors,  adopted,  in  the  legends  consecrated  to 
their  honor,  the  pompous  titles  of  ‘ offspring  of  the  sun , son  of 
the  sun , king  like  the  sun  of  all  inferior  and  superior  regions .’ 
and  the  like.”  This  last  title  is  fully  explained  in  the  letter 
from  Champollion  (translated  in  note  N.  below),  from  which 
we  learn  that  the  double  destiny  of  the  soul  was  symbolized 
by  means  of  the  march  of  the  sun  in  the  upper  and  lower 
hemispheres.  Splendid  worship  was  performed  in  honor  of 
the  sun,  in  Egypt,  and  Heliopolis  [i? Xiov  nôhç,  i.  e.  city  of 
the  sun ] was  particularly  consecrated  to  him.  We  might  ex- 
hibit here  some  analogies  between  the  Re  of  the  Egyptians, 
and  the  Phœbus  or  Apollo  of  the  Greeks  and  Latins.  But  we 
must  leave  these,  and  also  the  consideration  of  other  plane- 


APPENDIX. 


231 


tary  divinities,  in  order  to  describe  a few  more  important 
personages  in  the  Egyptian  Pantheon. 

Inscriptions  are  frequently  found  which  contain  the  names 
of  divinities,  written  both  in  Egyptian  and  in  Greek.  In  this 
form  occurs  the  name  of  a goddess  called  Sate,  who  was 
assimilated  by  the  Greeks  to  their  uHqa  (the  Juno  of  the 
Latins).  She  is  a goddess  of  the  first  rank,  and  she  is  repre- 
sented as  the  daughter  of  the  sun,  and  as  partaking  with  her 
father  in  employments  that  have  respect  to  the  physical  uni- 
verse. “ She  seems  to  have  been,”  says  Spineto,  “ the  pro- 
tectress of  all  the  Egyptian  monarchs  and  especially  of  the 
Pharaohs  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty — a dynasty  which  reckons 
among  its  members  the  greatest  kings  that  ever  reigned  over 
Egypt;  a Mœris,  an  Amenophis  II.,  an  Ousirei,  a Ramses 
Meïamoun,  the  grandfather  of  Ramses  Sethosis,  so  well  known 
by  the  ancients  under  the  name  of  Sesostris.”  The  image  of 
this  goddess  occurs  in  many  temples  of  Upper  Egypt,  and 
of  Nubia  ; in  the  temple  at  Elephantina  she  is  exhibited  as 
receiving  offerings  from  Amenophis  II.,  and  presenting  this 
prince  to  Ammon  Chnouphis  who  sits  upon  a throne.  The 
frequent  occurrence  of  her  image  near  to  that  of  Ammon,  to 
whom  she  is  in  this  way  addressing  some  service,  proves  that 
she  was  an  important  personage  in  his  family.  Her  emblems 
and  titles  are  very  splendid.  The  following  is  an  example  of 
the  latter  ; “ Sate,  the  living  goddess,  the  daughter  of  the  sun, 
the  queen  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth,  the  ruler  of  the 
inferior  region  [which  here  designates  Lower  Egypt,  accord- 
ing to  Spineto],  the  protectress  of  her  son,  the  lord  of  the 
world,  the  king  of  the  three  regions  [Upper,  Middle,  and 
Lower  Egypt,  according  to  the  same],  son  of  the  sun,  Phta- 
men  Ousirei.”  Champollion  describes  her  characteristic  em- 
blem as  the  upper  part  of  a head-dress , called  Psheut,  adorned 
with  two  long  horns.  This  is  placed  upon  the  head  of  an 
image,  which  represents  a woman  with  the  sign  of  divine  life 
in  her  hands. 

Sme  is  another  goddess  of  the  first  rank  among  Egyptian 
divinities,  whose  employment  seems  chiefly  to  have  been  in 
the  Egyptian  Amenti.  Spineto  thus  describes  her  ; “ She 


232 


APPENDIX. 


was  called  by  the  Greeks  ’AXtjÔsioc,  and  answers  to  Themis, 
the  goddess  of  justice  and  truth.  These  attributes  evidently 
show  her  to  have  been  another  representation  of  the  infinite 
Power,  who  continued  to  influence  and  to  act  upon  the  des- 
tinies of  men,  even  after  death,  in  a future  life  ; for  we  find 
this  goddess  almost  invariably  represented  on  the  monuments 
exhibiting  the  ceremony  of  funerals,  perpetually  leading  the 
soul  to  the  balance,  where  the  deeds  and  actions  of  his  life 
were  to  be  weighed,  previous  to  its  being  introduced  to  Osi- 
ris. She  is  figuratively  represented  by  the  image  of  a woman, 
holding  the  sign  of  divine  life,  and  having  her  head  decorated 
with  a feather,  which  is  the  peculiar  distinction  of  all  her 
images.  Symbolically,  she  was  exhibited  by  the  great  ser- 
pent, who  was  the  emblem  of  immortality  and  of  wisdom.” 
(Lect.  iv.) 

Such  are  some  of  the  principal  gods  and  goddesses  in  the 
Egyptian  Pantheon.  The  most  important  of  the  second  rank, 
are  the  goddess  Isis,  and  her  brother  and  husband  Osiris,  to 
whom,  following  the  selection  of  Spineto,  we  shall  devote  a 
few  details. 

Osiris  was  the  chief  god  of  the  Egyptian  Amenti , answer- 
ing to  the  Pluto  of  the  Greeks  and  Latins.  By  some,  Osiris 
is  said  to  have  been  the  Sol  inferus,  that  is  the  sun  when 
it  passed  into  the  lower  hemisphere,  and  through  the  au- 
tumnal and  wintry  signs  of  the  zodiac,  in  opposition  to  the 
Sol  suptrus , or  sun  when  it  passed  through  the  upper  hemi- 
sphere, and  through  the  summer  signs  of  the  zodiac.  Jab- 
lonski  attempts  to  establish  this  supposition,  though  he  errs 
in  confounding  the  name  of  Serapis  with  Osiris*  But 
whether  this  was  the  case,  or  whether  Osiris  is  to  be  regard- 
ed as  an  entirely  distinct  divinity,  we  have  not  now  the 
means  of  determining  ; it  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose,  to 
know  where  his  dominion  was  exercised.  This  was  over  the 
souls  of  men  after  their  decease — a fact  which  is  revealed  by 
almost  every  legend  and  painting  relating  to  the  dead.  We 
shall  furnish  our  readers,  in  the  sequel,  with  a description  of 


" Pantheon  Egypt.  Lib.  11,  cap.  v. 


APPENDIX. 


233 


n representation  of  this  kind.  Osiris  was  phonetically  exhi- 
bited, according  to  Spineto,* * * §  “ by  a sceptre,  with  the  head  of 
a species  of  wolf,  which  denotes  the  vowel  O ; the  crooked 
line,  S ; the  oval,  an  R ; the  arm,  an  E,  or  an  I,  which  gives 
Osre,  the  abbreviation  of  Osire,  or  Osiri .” 

Isis , according  to  Jablonski,f  represented  the  moon,  and  as 
the  Egyptians  adored  a Sol  superus  and  Sol  inferus , so  they 
worshipped  a Luna  supera  and  inféra , or  Isis  cœlestis  and  ter- 
res Iris.  Besides  officiating  in  the  Egyptian  Amenti,  she  was 
recognized  in  a variety  of  capacities  ; among  others,  as 
the  inventress  of  agriculture,  the  divinity  who  contained 
within  herself  the  seeds  of  productive  nature,^  and  as  the  in- 
ventress of  sails  and  of  navigation^  She  seems  to  have  been 
the  prototype  of  quite  a number  of  Grecian  divinities,  among 
the  rest  of  Proserpine  and  Ceres  ; particularly  of  the  latter, 
■whose  adventures  and  mysteries  her  own  strongly  resemble. || 
She  was  symbolically  represented  by  a throne,  a half  circle, 
and  an  egg,  which  last  sign  denoted  her  gender  as  feminine  ; 
figuratively,  by  a disk  and  a pair  of  horns. 

The  Amenti  of  the  Egyptians,  corresponding  to  the  Hades 
of  the  Greeks,  and  to  the  Tartarus  of  the  Latins,  was  the 
place  of  the  dead . It  was  governed  by  Osiris  as  chief,  and  by 
many  subordinate  divinities.  Thç  following  quotations  from 
Spineto,H  will  show  where  the  souls  of  men  were  distributed 
after  death. 

“ The  Egyptians  divided  the  whole  -world  into  three  zones. 
The  first  was  the  earth,  or  the  zone  of  trial  ; the  second  was 
the  zone  of  the  air,  perpetually  agitated  by  winds  and  storms, 
and  it  was  considered  as  the  zone  of  temporal  punishment  ; 
and  the  third  was  the  zone  of  rest  and  tranquillity,  which  was 
above  the  other  two.  Again,  they  had  subdivided  the  first 


* Lect.  iv.  p.  141. 

t Pantheon  Egypt . Lib.  hi.  cap.  i.  and  ii. 

t Plutarch  de  Iside.  p.  372. 

§ The  elevation  of  a ship  formed  one  feature  in  her  mysteries. 
Spineto,  p.  140. 

|J  See  Recherches  du  Paganisme,  by  De  Sacy.  Vol.  i.  p.  150  seq. 
IT  Lect.  iv. 


20* 


234 


APPENDIX, 


zone  or  the  earth,  into  four  regions  or  departments  ; the 
second  or  the  zone  of  the  air,  was  divided  into  two  only  ; the 
first  of  these  was  subdivided  into  four  regions,  and  the  second 
into  eight,  making  twelve  altogether  ; these  being  added  to 
the  four  regions  of  the  first  zone,  made  sixteen  ; and,  lastly, 
the  third  zone  of  the  tranquil  atmosphere  contained  sixteen 
more  regions  ; so  that  the  sum  total  of  the  regions  in  which 
the  souls  of  the  dead  were  to  be  distributed,  was  in  fact 
thirty-two.” 

There  is  an  evident  variation  between  the  divisions  made 
by  Spineto,  and  those  made  by  Champollion  in  his  letter  quo- 
ted in  note  N.  below.  It  would  seem  more  probable  that 
there  were  twenty -four  principal  zones,  corresponding  to  the 
twenty-four  hours  of  the  day — twelve  for  the  upper  hemisphere 
through  which  the  sun  passed  during  the  twelve  hours  of 
light,  and  twelve  for  the  lower  hemisphere  through  which  the 
sun  passed  during  the  twelve  hours  of  darkness.  But  the 
subordinate  zones  may  have  been  more  or  less  numerous,* 
and  hence  arises  the  variation  between  Champollion  and  Spi- 
neto. This  circumstance,  however,  would  not  affect  the  di- 
vision of  the  world  into  the  three  general  portions,  which 
Spineto  announces,  and  as  the  minor  divisions  are  compara- 
tively unimportant,  we  shall  continue  to  quote  from  this 
author. 

“ The  god  Pooh  was  supposed  to  be  a perpetual  director — 
a sort  of  king  of  the  souls,  who,  after  having  parted  from  the 
body,  were  thrown  into  the  second  zone,  to  be  whirled  about 
by  the  winds  through  the  regions  of  the  air  till  they  were 
called  upon  either  to  return  to  the  first  zone,  to  animate  a 
new  body,  and  to  undergo  fresh  trials  in  expiation  of  their 
former  sins,  or  to  be  removed  into  the  third,  where  the  air 
was  perpetually  pure  and  tranquil.  It  was  over  these  two 
zones,  or  divisions  of  the  world,  situated  between  the  earth 
and  the  moon,  that  the  god  Pooh  exercised  the  full  extent  of 
his  power.  He  had  for  his  counsel  the  god  Thotli , who 
presided  over  that  portion  of  the  second  or  tempestuous  zone, 
which  was  divided  into  eight  regions,  and  was  only  a tempo- 

* Champollion  makes  seventy-five  zones  in  the  lower  world. 


APPENDIX. 


235 


rary  dwelling  of  the  dead.  This  was,  in  fact,  nothing  else 
but  the  personification  of  the  grand  principle  of  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  and  the  necessity  of  leading  a virtuous  life  ; 
since  every  man  was  called  upon  to  give  a strict  account  of 
his  past  conduct,  and,  according  to  the  sentence  which  Osiris 
pronounced,  was  doomed  to  happiness  or  misery  ; for,  gener- 
ally speaking,  it  seems  that  the  Egyptians  had  assigned  to 
their  principal  gods  and  goddesses  most  closely  connected 
with  their  Demiurgos,  two  different  characters  ; the  one  pre- 
siding over,  or  assisting  in,  the  creation  of  the  universe  ; the 
other  performing  some  duties,  or  exercising  some  act  of  au- 
thority in  the  Amenti , as  was  the  case  with  the  god  Phtha, 
the  goddess  Sme,  and  others.” 

Spineto  after  describing  the  manner  of  embalming  the 
dead,  as  practised  at  Memphis,  gives  the  following  brief  ac- 
count of  a cemetery  near  to  that  city,  “ which  was  the  largest 
and  most  frequented  of  any  in  Egypt  and  also  narrates  the 
principal  ceremonies  performed  on  occasion  of  a burial.  We 
quote  the  whole,  as  it  shows  from  whence  an  important  part 
of  the  Greek  mythology  was  derived. 

“ The  common  place  of  burial  was  beyond  the  lake 
Acherjsia , or  Acharejish , which  meant  the  last  state , the  last 
condition  of  man , and  from  which  the  poets  have  imagined 
the  fabulous  lake  of  Acheron . On  the  borders  of  this  lake 
Acherjsia  sat  a tribunal,  composed  of  forty-two  judges,  whose 
office,  previous  to  the  dead  being  permitted  to  be  carried  to 
the  cemetery  beyond  the  lake,  was  to  inquire  into  the  whole 
conduct  of  his  life. 

If  the  deceased  had  died  insolvent,  they  adjudged  the 
corpse  to  his  creditors,  which  was  considered  as  a mark  of 
dishonor,  in  order  to  oblige  his  relations  and  friends  to  re- 
deem it,  by  raising  the  necessary  sums  among  themselves. 
If  he  had  led  a wicked  life,  they  ordered  that  he  should  be 
deprived  of  solemn  burial,  and  he  was  consequently  carried 
and  thrown  into  a large  ditch  made  for  the  purpose,  to  which 
they  gave  the  appellation  of  Tartar , on  account  of  thé 
lamentations  that  this  sentence  produced  among  his  survi- 
ving friends  and  relations. 


236 


APPENDIX. 


This  is  also  the  origin  of  the  fabulous  Tartarus,  in  which 
the  poets  have  transferred  the  lamentations  made  by  the 
living  to  the  dead  themselves  who  were  thrown  into  it. 

If  no  accuser  appeared,  or  if  the  accusation  had  proved 
groundless,  the  judges  decreed  that  the  deceased  was  entitled 
to  his  burial,  and  his  eulogium  was  pronounced  amidst  the 
applauses  of  the  bystanders,  in  which  they  praised  his  educa- 
tion, his  religion,  his  justice,  in  short,  all  his  virtues,  without, 
however,  mentioning  any  thing  about  his  riches  or  nobility, 
both  of  which  were  considered  as  mere  gifts  of  fortune. 

To  carry  the  corpse  to  the  cemetery,  it  was  necessary  to 
cross  the  lake,  and  this  was  done  by  means  of  a boat,  in 
which  no  one  could  be  admitted  without  the  express  order 
of  the  judges,  and  without  paying  a small  sum  for  the  con- 
veyance. This  regulation  was  so  strictly  enforced,  that  the 
kings  themselves  were  not  exempt  from  its  severity. 

The  cemetery  was  a large  plain  surrounded  by  trees,  and 
intersected  by  canals,  to  which  they  had  given  the  appella- 
tion of  elisout,  or  elisiœns,  which  means  nothing  else  but  rest. 
And  such  again  is  the  origin  of  the  poetical  Charon  and  his 
boat,  as  well  as  of  the  fabulous  description  of  the  Elysian 
Fields. 

The  whole  ceremony  of  the  interment  seemed  to  have  con- 
sisted in  depositing  the  mummy  in  the  excavation  made  in 
the  rock,  or  under  the  sand  which  covered  the  whole  of  the 
elisout,  to  shut  up  its  entrance  by  a large  stone  ; then  it 
seems  that  the  relations  of  the  deceased  threw  three  handfuls 
of  sand  on  the  tomb,  as  a sign  to  the  workmen  to  fill  up  the 
cavity,  and  then  departed,  after  uttering  three  several  cries, 
as  three  distinct  farewells. 

To  express,  therefore,  the  circumstance,  that  the  deceased 
had  been  honored  with  the  rites  of  burial,  and  with  the 
proper  and  legitimate  lamentations  of  his  friends,  they  ex- 
hibited on  the  mummy,  or  engraved  round  his  tomb,  the 
figure  of  a horse  of  the  Nile  ; which  the  Greeks  mistook  for 
a dog,  who,  by  his  fidelity  and  attachment,  deserved  to  be- 
come the  symbol  of  friendship  and  affection  ; and  as  they 
at  all  times  wished  to  add  something  of  their  own  to  the 


APPENDIX. 


237 


institutions  of  other  nations,  in  order  to  .express  the  three 
cries,  or  farewells,  they  represented  this  same  dog  as  having 
three  different  heads.  To  this  emblem,  or  hieroglyphic,  the 
Egyptians  gave  the  appellation  of  Oms  ; and  the  Greeks,  in 
consequence  of  their  mistaking  it  for  a dog,  that  of  Cerber , 
from  the  Egyptian  Ceriber , a word  that  means  the  cry  of  the 
tomb , and  from  which  originates  the  Cerberus  of  the  Grecian 
mythology.” 

We  come  now  to  the  description  of  a picture  which  repre- 
sents the  most  important  divinities  of  the  Egyptian  Amenti  in 
the  performance  of  their  several  functions,  and  “ the  trial  and 
judgment  which  the  Egyptians  supposed  the  soul  of  a man  to 
undergo,  before  he  was  allowed  to  enter  the  region  of  rest 
and  happiness.”  A very  elegant  plate  of  it  may  he  found  in 
Table  5,  in  the  work  of  Spineto,  accompanied  by  the  following 
explanation.* 

“It  is  taken  from  a curious  manuscript  existing  in  the  Vati- 
can library,  of  which  Angelo  Mai,  a Milanese,  has  given  a 
description.  Although  I have  not  been  able  to  obtain  the 
original  work,  yet  in  German  there  is  a translation  by  Louis 
Bachmann,  in  three  distinct  numbers,  one  of  which  I have 
seen. 

The  whole  scene  is  represented  to  take  place  in  the  prœ- 
torium  of  the  Amenti.  The  frieze  at  the  top  contains  a con- 
tinued series  of  different  emblems,  among  which  the  most 
prominent  is  the  Urœus , the  serpent  who  was  considered  as 
the  symbol  of  the  goddess  Sme , or  Tme , preceded  or  followed 
by  the  feather,  which  is  also  another  ornament,  or  attribute, 
of  this  same  goddess.  For  this  is  the  place  where  she,  as  the 
goddess  of  truth,  must  exclusively  preside.  She  seems  herself 
to  stand  in  the  middle,  with  her  arms  extended,  covering  two 
hieroglyphical  legends,  exhibiting  the  symbols  of  the  sun  and 
of  the  moon,  to  denote  the  Providence  that  rules  over  the 
universe.  To  the  right  and  left  of  this  architrave  we  find  the 
god  Thoth,  under  the  shape  of  a cynocephalus,  or  an  ape  ; he 
is  also  often  called  Apis,  or  Api. 


Lect.  v. 


238 


APPENDIX. 


In  the  chapel,  we  observe  Osiris  sitting  on  a throne,  with 
all  the  symbols  that  belong  to  him, — the  whip  and  the  sceptre, 
to  denote  his  power  over  time  ; the  Pshent , or  the  royal  hel- 
met, from  the  front  of  which  issues  the  serpent,  the  emblem 
of  eternity  and  wisdom,  and  on  which  is  engraved  the  symbol 
of  Phre  [or  Re],  to  signify  his  prudence  and  his  justice.  Over 
his  head  we  have  an  inscription  in  hieroglyphical  characters, 
which  contains  his  titles,  and  the  meaning  of  which  seems  to 
be,  ‘Osiris,  the  beneficent  god;  lord  of  the  living,  the  supreme 
god,  everlasting  lord  ; the  ruler  of  the  inferior  region,  king  of 
the  gods.’  Before  him  stands  a basket,  out  of  which  issues  a 
stick,  or  a pole,  on  which  hangs  the  skin  of  a panther,  which 
persuaded  the  Greeks  to  assimilate  him  to  their  Bacchus. 

Before  this  chapel  there  is  an  altar,  on  which  lies  an  offer- 
ing of  bread,  fruit,  and  flowers  of  the  lotus,  and  by  its  side 
stand  two  bunches  of  the  same  plant,  not  yet  open.  They 
were  considered  as  containing  the  water  of  the  Nile,  without 
which  no  sacrifice  or  libation  could  be  made. 

On  a pedestal  before  this  altar  rests  a horse  of  the  Nile, 
which  the  Egyptians  called  Oms,  the  faithful  guardian  of  all 
burial  places,  and  which  the  Greeks  have  transformed  into 
their  Cerberus.  Over  its  head  there  is  an  inscription  in  hiero- 
glyphical characters,  the  import  of  which  is,  ‘ Oms,  the  ruler 
of  the  inferior  region;’  and  just  above  him  there  is  a god 
called  Sciai,  and  his  wife  Rannet , as  it  appears  from  the  pho- 
netic characters  over  their  heads  ; they  both  were  attendants 
on  Osiris. 

Further  back  on  the  sceptre  of  Osiris  is  seen  a small  figure 
in  a sitting  posture  holding  a finger  on  his  lips,  to  whom  the 
Greeks  have  given  the  appellation  of  Sigalion,  the  Haiyocrates 
of  the  Romans. 

In  the  opposite  corner,  we  have  a group  of  three  persons. 
The  first  is  the  goddess  Sme  ; she  appears  with  all  the  attri- 
butes of  her  office  and  power  ; the  long  sceptre  in  her  right 
hand,  and  the  sign  of  divine  life  in  her  left,  to  signify,  that 
through  her  alone  a man  can  pass  to  immortality  and  happi- 
ness; and  lastly,  she  has  her  head  surrounded  by  a sort  of 
diadem,  surmounted  by  a feather,  her  peculiar  distinction; 


appendix. 


239 


and  over  it  we  find  the  legend  which  characterizes  her  as 
< Sme,  the  goddess  of  truth,  the  daughter  of  the  sun,  for  ever 
living,  and  benevolent,  ruler  of  the  inferior  region.’ 

On  account  of  her  double  character,  the  Greeks  have  com- 
pared this  goddess  to  Themis  and  Persephone,  that  is, 
Proserpine.  As  the  goddess  of  justice  she  is  Themis,  as  a 
companion  of  Osiris,  and  queen  of  the  Amenti,  she  is 
Persephone.* 

Next  to  Sme,  we  find  another  figure  in  the  common  dress 
of  the  Egyptians,  who  evidently  is  the  person  of  the  de- 
ceased. His  name  is  engraved  over  his  head,  and  signifies 
‘ the  Osirian,  Nesimandu  deceased,  son  of  JYuabendi , de- 
ceased and  next  to  this  legend  there  is  another,  which 
seems  to  be  a petition  which  he  presents  to  the  goddess  Sme, 
entreating  the  permission  of  being  allowed  to  enter  the  place 
of  rest  and  tranquillity. 

The  last  figure  I do  not  exactly  know  how  to  describe,  for 
I cannot  exactly  make  her  out.  She  seems,  however,  to  be  an 
attendant  of  Sme,  as  if  introducing  Nesimandu  to  her. 

The  middle  part  of  this  curious  monument  is  occupied  by 
a large  balance.  In  one  scale  there  is  an  urn,  containing 
the  actions  of  the  life  of  Nesimandu  ; in  the  other,  by  way 
of  weight,  the  image  of  Sme,  the  goddess  of  truth.  The 
scale  on  which  lies  the  urn,  is  attended  by  Horus,  whose 
symbolical  name  is  engraved  over  his  head.  The  other, 
which  contains  the  image  of  the  goddess,  is  watched  over 
by  Anubis.  Above  his  head  there  is  an  inscription,  of  which  I 
cannot  entirely  make  out  the  meaning  ; but  from  what  I can 
make  out,  it  appears  to  be  4 a declaration  by  Anubis,  that 

* In  performing  the  mysteries  of  Isis,  during  the  ceremony,  an 
Egyptian  priest  addresses  Isis  according  to  prescribed  formulas,  and 
she  replies.  Among  other  attributes  she  is  called  “ the  governess 
of  the  multitudes  in  Tartarus,”  and  in  her  reply  she  styles  herself 
“ queen  of  the  manes.”  Hence  it  would  seem  more  probable,  that 
the  Greeks  borrowed  their  Persephone  from  Isis.  The  circum- 
stance we  have  referred  to  is  mentioned  by  Apuleius,  who  was  born 
in  Africa,  and  who  wrrote  many  books.  He  i3  quoted  as  authority 
by  De  Sacy  and  St.  Croix.  See  Apul.  Metamorph.  Lib.  xi. 
p.  226.— Tr. 


240 


APPENDIX. 


these  are  the  proofs  of  the  life  and  actions  of  Nesimandu, 
deceased.’ 

In  front  of  the  balance  we  have  the  god  Thoth,  holding  a 
tablet  in  his  left  hand,  on  which  he  notes  down  with  a reed 
which  he  has  in  his  right  hand,  the  result  of  the  weighing 
of  the  life  and  actions  of  Nesimandu,  approving  of  the  result, 
and  recommending  that  he  should  be  introduced  to  Osiris. 

The  middle  compartment  represents  two  rows,  containing 
forty-two  figures,  in  two  distinct  lines  of  twenty-one  each. 
They  are  the  emblematical  figures  of  the  forty-two  judges, 
who  upon  earth  tried  the  merits  and  the  demerits  of  every 
dead  person,  to  see  whether  he  deserved  the  distinction  of  a 
burial.  This  trial,  which  even  kings  were  obliged  to  undergo, 
formed  the  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  Egyptian  religious 
code,  and,  no  doubt,  arose  from  the  belief,  that  in  the  next 
world,  the  same  ceremony  took  place,  before  the  soul  of  the 
dead  was  allowed  to  be  presented  to  Osiris,  in  order  that  he 
might,  according  to  the  life  he  had  led,  be  sent  to  the  ap- 
propriated region  of  greater  or  less  happiness  or  misery. 

To  signify  that  the  judges  were  perfectly  impartial,  and 
that  the  deceased  was  tried  according  to  the  strictest  rules 
of  justice,  the  judges  were  represented  under  the  human 
form,  with  the  heads  of  the  different  animals  which  were  the 
symbolical  characters  of  the  several  gods  or  goddesses  ; or, 
in  other  and  more  appropriate  expressions,  the  represen- 
tation of  the  several  attributes  and  emanations  of  the  great 
Demiurgos. 

To  render  the  whole  picture  more  striking,  it  seems  as  if 
the  sentence  of  the  forty-two  judges  was  carried  down  to  the 
goddess  Sme  by  her  attendant,  while  she  received  the  peti- 
tion of  Nesimandu  at  the  time  that  the  god  Thoth  was  regis- 
tering, on  the  tablets  of  fate,  the  result  of  the  weighing, 
which  Horus  and  Anubis  had  made  of  the  whole  of  his  life, 
against  the  image  of  the  goddess  of  truth. 

The  whole  of  this  representation  seems,  no  doubt,  to  have 
been  executed  in  honor  of  Nesimandu,  as  a proof  of  his 
having  been  admitted  to  the  funeral  honors  which  the  Egyp- 
tians granted  to  all  persons  who  had  led  a virtuous  life.” 


APPENDIX. 


241 


Representations  of  a contrary  kind,  exhibiting  the  pun- 
ishment in  the  Amentia  of  souls  whose  bodies  were  denied 
burial  in  this  world,  Spineto  thinks  must  have  been  common 
in  ancient  times,  but  only  a few  have  been  yet  discovered. 
Among  these,  says  Spineto,  “ is  a monument  in  which  the 
urn,  containing  the  soul  or  actions  of  the  deceased,  could  not 
balance  the  weight  of  the  image  of  Sme.  In  consequence  of 
this  deficiency,  on  a flight  of  stairs  which  formed  the  com- 
munication between  the  Amenti  and  the  world,  the  deceased 
was  represented  under  the  form  of  a dog,  with  his  tail  be- 
tween his  legs,  running  away  from  the  god  Anubis,  who  was 
pursuing  and  driving  him  back  again  into  the  world.  This 
representation  confirms  the  opinion,  that  the  Egyptians  ad- 
mitted the  doctrine  of  the  metempsychosis,  and  believed  that 
the  souls  of  men  for  particular  crimes,  were  condemned  to 
return  to  life  under  the  shape  of  some  animal,  to  atone  for 
their  past  sins.” 

In  comparing  the  Egyptian  Amenti  with  the  Hades  of  the 
Greeks  and  with  the  Tartarus  of  the  Latins,  Spineto  briefly 
adverts  to  some  points  of  assimilation,  as  follows  ; u Upon 
the  whole,  the  first  seems  to  have  been  the  prototype  and  the 
origin  of  the  two  last.  Orpheus,  who  had  been  initiated  into 
all  the  secrets  of  the  mysteries  of  Egypt,  carried  into  Greece 
these  mysteries  ;*  and  the  Greeks  soon  so  altered  the  whole, 
as  to  render  them  no  longer  cognizable.  Osiris  became 
Pluto  ; Sme,  Persephone  [or  rather  Themis  simply]  ; Oms, 
Cerberus  ; Thoth,  Mercurius  Psychopompos  ; Horus,  Apis, 
and  Anubis,  the  three  infernal  judges,  Minos,  Æacus,  and 
Rhadamanthus.  To  conclude  the  whole,  the  symbolical  heads 
of  the  different  animals  under  which  the  forty-two  judges 
were  represented,  being  deprived  of  their  primitive  and  sym- 
bolical meaning,  were  changed  into  real  monsters,  the  Chi- 
meras, the  Harpies,  and  the  Gorgons,  and  other  such  unnatu- 
ral and  horrible  things,  with  which  they  peopled  their  fantas- 

* Any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  compare  the  mysteries  of 
Isis  and  Osiris  with  those  of  Ceres  and  Proserpine,  with  those  of 
Venus  and  Adonis,  and  with  those  of  Bacchus,  will  discover  many 
striking  resemblances. — Tr. 

21 


242 


APPENDIX. 


tic  hell  ; and  thus  the  Amenti  of  the  Egyptians,  as  indeed  the 
greater  part,  if  not  the  whole  of  their  religion,  became,  in  the 
hands  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  a compound  of  fables  and 
absurdities.” 


[ N.  p.  65.  ] 

Brief  sketches  of  the  Arts  and  Architecture  of  Egypt , 

It  is  proposed  in  the  following  note  to  furnish  the  reader 
with  a compendious  account  of  some  of  the  arts,  as  exhibited 
in  the  monuments  of  Egypt.  Before  describing,  however, 
any  particular  object,  we  copy  from  Spineto  an  extract  from 
one  of  the  letters  of  Champollion,  which  was  published  in  the 
English  Literary  Gazette.  This  letter  exhibits  a general 
view  of  the  Egyptian  drawings,  “ and  serves  as  an  illustration 
of  the  high  degree  of  civilization  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.” 
The  tenor  of  it  is  as  follows. 

“ Amongst  the  tombs  at  Beni-Hassan,  Champollion  has 
found  drawings  highly  interesting,  which  give  such  full  par- 
ticulars of  the  progress  that  the  Egyptians  had  made  in  the 
different  professions,  arts,  and  manufactures,  as  to  make  us 
acquainted  with  the  smallest  detail  of  the  mode  they  pursued 
in  agriculture,  in  the  several  arts  and  trades,  iq  their  military 
education  ; in  singing,  music,  and  dancing  ; in  the  rearing  of 
their  cattle  ; in  ichnography,  i.  e.  portrait  painting  ; in  games, 
exercises,  and  diversions  ; in  domestic  justice,  and  household 
economy  ; in  historical  and  religious  monuments  ; in  naviga- 
tion and  zoology. 

The  drawings  belonging  to  agriculture , exhibit  the  tilling 
of  the  ground  either  with  oxen  or  by  hand,  sowing,  treading 
the  ground  by  rams,  and  not  by  hogs,  as  Herodotus  says  ; 
five  sorts  of  ploughs,  the  use  of  the  pick-axe,  the  reaping  of 
wheat,  the  gathering  of  flax,  the  putting  these  two  kinds  of 
plants  into  sheaves,  the  carrying  to  the  mill,  the  threshing, 


APPENDIX. 


243 


measuring,  storing  in  the  granaries,  which,  as  it  appears  from 
the  drawings,  were  made  on  two  different  plans  ; the  flax 
carried  by  asses,  the  gathering  of  the  lotus,  the  culture  of  the 
vine,  the  vintage,  the  carrying  of  the  grapes,  two  different 
sorts  of  presses,  one  worked  by  the  hand,  the  other  by  mech- 
anism ; putting  the  wine  into  bottles  or  jars,  the  gathering  of 
figs,  the  cultivation  of  onions,  irrigation  of  the  land,  and  other 
such  exhibitions,  containing  explanatory  hieroglyphic  inscrip- 
tions. 

In  arts  and  trades , Champollion  has  already  formed  a col- 
lection of  pictures,  for  the  most  part  colored,  in  order  to  de- 
termine the  nature  of  the  objects,  and  representing  the  sculptor 
in  stone,  the  carver  in  wood,  the  painter  of  statues,  the  painter 
of  architecture,  furniture,  and  cabinet-work  of  all  kinds  ; a 
painter  with  his  easel  painting  a picture  ; scribes  and  clerks 
of  all  descriptions  ; waggons  conveying  blocks  of  stone  ; the 
art  of  pottery,  with  all  the  operations  ; the  cutting  of  wood, 
makers  of  oars,  cabinet-makers,  carpenters,  sawyers,  curriers  ; 
the  staining  of  common  leather  and  morocco  ; shoe-making, 
spinning,  weaving,  the  glass-worker  and  all  his  operations  ; 
the  goldsmith,  jeweller,  smith,  and  the  like. 

In  military  education  and  tactics , the  collection  is  equally 
splendid.  It  consists  of  several  drawings,  exhibiting  all  their 
gymnastic  exercises,  represented  in  above  200  pictures  show- 
ing all  the  positions  and  attitudes  of  two  wrestlers,  attacking, 
defending,  retreating,  advancing,  standing,  and  thrown  down  ; 
and  by  them,  say3  Champollion,  ‘ you  will  see  whether  the 
Egyptian  artists  were  contented  with  figures  in  profile,  the 
legs  joined,  and  the  arms  pinioned  against  the  side.’  Be- 
sides copying  the  whole  of  these  soldiers  wrestling  together, 
this  indefatigable  Frenchman  has  also  copied  sixty  figures, 
representing  soldiers  of  all  arms,  a siege,  a field  of  battle,  the 
tortoise,  the  ram,  the  military  punishments,  the  preparations 
for  a military  repast,  and  the  manufacture  of  lances,  bows, 
arrows,  clubs,  battle-axes,  &c. 

The  collection  belonging  to  singing , music , and  dancing , 
consists  of  pictures  representing  a concert  of  vocal  and  in- 
strumental music  ; a singer,  accompanied  by  a musician  on 
the  harp,  is  supported  by  two  chorusses,  one  of  four  men,  the 


244 


APPENDIX. 


other  of  five  women,  the  latter  beating  time  with  their  hands. 
It  is  a complete  opera  ; players  on  the  harp  of  both  sexes, 
players  on  the  German  flute,  flageolet,  on  a sort  of  shell  ; 
dancers,  forming  various  figures,  with  the  names  of  the  steps 
which  they  dance  ; and  the  female  dancers  of  ancient  Egypt, 
dancing,  singing,  playing  at  tennis,  and  performing  various 
feats  of  strength  and  address. 

The  drawings  representing  the  rearing  of  cattle , exhibit 
herdsmen,  all  kinds  of  oxen,  cows,  calves,  milking,  making 
cheese  and  butter,  goatherds,  ass-drivers,  shepherds  with 
their  sheep,  scenes  relative  to  the  veterinary  art  ; poultry 
yards,  containing  numerous  species  of  geese  and  ducks,  and 
a kind  of  swan,  which  was  domestic  in  ancient  Egypt. 

The  drawings  relative  to  games , exercises , and  diversions , 
are  particularly  curious.  Among  them  there  is  the  exhibi- 
tion of  the  morra , the  game  which  is  so  popular  in  Italy,  par- 
ticularly in  Naples  ; the  drawing  of  straws,  a kind  of  hot- 
cockles  ; the  mall,  the  game  of  piquets  planted  in  the  ground, 
the  hunting  of  the  fallow-deer,  a picture,  representing  a grand 
chase  in  the  desert,  in  which  are  depicted  between  fifteen 
and  twenty  species  of  quadrupeds  ; pictures  of  the  return 
from  the  sport,  game  carried,  dead  or  alive  ; several  pictures 
of  catching  birds  with  nets,  or  with  snares  ; drawings  relative 
to  fishing,  with  angling-rod,  with  the  trident,  or  bident  nets, 
and  the  like. 

The  pictures  exhibiting  the  exercise  of  domestic  justice , 
consist  of  fifteen  drawings  of  basso-relievos , representing  of- 
- fences  committed  by  servants,  the  arrest  of  the  offender,  his 
accusation  and  defence,  his  trial  by  the  intendants  of  the 
household,  his  sentence,  and  the  execution,  which  is  confined 
to  the  bastinado,  the  account  of  which  is  delivered,  with  the 
documents  of  the  proceedings,  into  the  hands  of  the  master, 
by  the  intendants  of  the  household. 

Domestic  economy , is  divided  into  ten  different  heads  ; and 
the  drawings  which  represent  them  are  very  curious.  The 
first  division  consists  of  pictures  of  several  houses,  more  or 
less  sumptuous  ; the  second  of  vases  of  different  forms,  uten- 
sils, and  movables,  all  coloured,  because  the  colors  invariably 
indicate  the  materials  of  which  they  are  composed.  The 


APPENDIX. 


245 


third  division  contains  the  drawing  of  a superb  palanquin. 
The  fourth  a kind  of  room,  with  folding  doors,  carried  on  a 
sledge,  which  served  the  great  men  of  Egypt,  in  former  days, 
for  carriages.  The  fifth  consists  of  pictures  of  monkeys,  cats, 
and  dogs,  as  well  as  the  dwarfs  and  other  deformed  individu- 
als, who,  more  than  1500  years  before  the  Christian  era, 

. served  to  dispel  the  spleen  of  the  Egyptian  noblemen,  as  well 
as  they  did  that  of  the  old  barons  of  Europe  1500  years  after 
the  Christian  era.  The  sixth  division  exhibits  the  officers  of 
a great  household,  intendants,  secretaries,  &c.  The  seventh , 
servants  both  male  and  female,  carrying  provisions  of  all  sorts. 
The  eighth , the  manner  of  killing  oxen,  and  of  cutting  them 
up  for  the  use  of  the  family.  The  ninth , a series  of  designs 
representing  cooks  preparing  various  kinds  of  provisions  ; and 
the  tenth , the  servants  carrying  dressed  meat  to  the  master’s 
table. 

The  collection  of  drawings  exhibiting  historical  and  reli- 
gious monuments , consists  of  inscriptions,  basso-relievos , and 
monuments  of  every  kind,  bearing  royal  legends  wTith  a date 
expressed,  as  well  as  the  images  of  the  various  deities. 

The  department  belonging  to  navigation  represents  the 
building  of  vessels  and  boats  of  various  kinds  and  sizes,  and 
the  games  of  the  mariners,  which,  Champollion  observes,  ex- 
actly resemble  those  that  take  place  on  the  Seine  during  the 
great  holydays. 

The  last  division  belongs  to  zoology , and  exhibits  a series 
of  quadrupeds,  birds,  insects,  reptiles,  and  fish,  designed  and 
colored  with  the  utmost  fidelity.  This  collection  already 
amounts  to  more  than  two  hundred  specimens,  and  is  ex- 
tremely interesting.  The  birds,  Champollion  says,  are  splen- 
did, the  fish  painted  with  extreme  perfection  ; there  are  ^bove 
fourteen  different  species  of  dogs,  such  as  house-dogs,  hotmds, 
&c.  from  the  harrier  to  the  spaniel.”*  (Lond.  Lit.  Gazette.) 

The  ruins  of  Thebes  exhibit  some  of  the  most  magnificent 

* The  reader  will  recollect,  that  Champollion  has  recently  returned 
from  Egypt,  with  a collection  of  fifteen  hundred  drawings,  which 
in  magnificence  and  variety  will  probably  far  excel  what  has  here 
been  depicted. 

21* 


246 


APPENDIX. 


edifices,  colossal  statues,  splendid  tombs,  with  paintings, 
sculptures,  mummies,  sarcophagi,  «fee.  that  are  to  be  found  in 
Egypt.  A description  of  one  of  the  temples,  one  of  the 
tombs,  and  some  of  the  statues,  will  suffice  to  give  the  reader 
an  idea  of  the  nature  of  Egyptian  architecture,  sculpture, 
paintings,  «fee. 

Among  the  temples,  the  palace  called  by  Champollion 
the  Ramesseion,  is  selected,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful. Previous  to  its  being  visited  by  Champollion,  its  name, 
under  the  contending  titles  of  the  Memnonium  and  the  tomb 
of  Osymandias , had  given  occasion  to  much  controversy. 
But  Champollion  read  its  name  every  where  upon  the  bas- 
reliefs,  the  architraves,  and  in  the  legends,  which  adorn  it. 
This  name,  he  says,  is  Ramesseion  ; which  it  bears,  because 
Thebes  was  indebted  for  it  to  the  munificence  of  Ramses  the 
Great. 

The  following  account  of  it  is  taken  from  the  narrative  of 
Dr.  Richardson,  as  abridged  by  the  author  of  the  Modem 
Traveller,  and  from  a letter  of  Champollion,  dated  Thebes , 
June  18,  1829.* 

The  words  of  the  narrative  follow  : u Having  retraced  our 
steps  along  the  ancient  avenue  to  the  edge  of  the  rocky  flat, 
we  turned  southward,  and  in  a few  minutes  reached  the 
[Ramesseion].  This  beautiful  relic  of  antiquity  looks  to  the 
east,  and  is  fronted  with  a stupendous  propylon,  of  which  234 
feet  in  length  are  still  remaining.  The  propylon  stands  on 
the  edge  of  the  arable  soil;  but  the  area  for  the  dromos  be- 
hind it,  is  floored  with  the  solid  rock,  on  which  the  rest  of  the 
temple  is  erected.  Great  part  of  the  eastern  wall  has  fallen 
down,  and  both  ends  are  greatly  dilapidated.  Every  stone  in 
the  propylon  appears  to  have  been  shaken  and  loosened,  as  if 
from  the  concussion  of  an  earthquake  ; for  no  human  violence 
seems  adequate  to  produce  such  an  effect  in  so  immense  a 
mass.  A stair  leads  from  each  end  to  the  top  of  the  propylon, 
from  which  passages  go  off  into  a number  of  chambers  ; but 

* The  letters  from  Champollion  which  we  have  occasion  to  quote 
in  this  note,  were  translated,  some  time  since,  for  the  ‘ Journal  of 
Humanity.’ 


APPENDIX. 


247 


they  are  so  broken  and  filled  up,  as  hardly  to  admit  of  exam- 
ination. No  devices  can  be  obtained  from  the  eastern  wall, 
and  very  little  from  the  doorway.  The  sculpture  on  the  west 
end  of  the  latter,  presents  merely  the  figure  of  a hero  with 
the  globe  and  serpent  over  his  head.  In  his  right  hand,  he 
holds  the  lotus-headed  sceptre,  and  the  sacred  Tan  in  his  left  ; 
his  standard  is  reared  beside  him  on  his  right,  and  the  bird  of 
victory  is  hovering  over  it.  Here,  the  tale  of  the  sculpture 
breaks  off  ; the  work  on  this  side  of  the  passage  has  not  been 
completed,  and  the  ravages  of  desolation  prevent  us  from 
reading  the  other  side,  which  has  fallen  down.  The  western 
side  of  the  propylon  has  also  suffered  much,  but  still  contains 
some  specimens  of  the  art  of  sculpture  not  unworthy  of  atten- 
tion. Round  the  door  is  a scene  of  repose  : the  figures  are 
seated,  and  hold  sceptres  and  sacred  Taus  in  their  hands, 
with  offerings  before  them.  Passing  over  to  the  right,  the 
eye  is  immediately  caught  by  the  appearance  of  a gigantic 
hero*  in  a war  chariot.  His  head  is  crowned  with  the  globe 
and  serpents  ; the  sacred  bird  hovers  above,  but  only  the 
wings  remain  ; the  tyings  of  his  cap  stream  out  behind  ; he 
stands  in  a determined  attitude,  his  bow  bent,  and  the  shaft 
ready  to  fly  ; there  is  no  charioteer, — the  reins  are  tied  round 
his  waist  ; and  he  is  rushing  into  the  midst  of  his  falling  and 
flying  foes.  The  havoc  of  his  arrows  is  seen  in  the  heaps  of 
wounded  and  slain.f  The  combatants  on  the  side  of  the  con- 

* This  hero  is  Ramses  the  Great. 

t The  Author  of  “ Scenes  and  Impressions”  thus  describes  this 
curious  piece  of  ancient  sculpture.  “ It  is  rudely  cut  in  on  the  close- 
joined  stones,  and,  though  roughly  executed,  full  of  fire.  The  hero 
(as  compared  with  the  rest  of  the  figures)  is  of  a giant  size  ; he  stands 
erect  in  his  chariot,  his  horses  on  their  speed, — a high,  cloud-pawing 
gallop  ; his  arrow  drawn  to  the  head  ; the  reins  fastened  round  his 
unmoved  loins:  you  have  the  flight  of  the  vanquished,  the  headlong 
fallings  of  the  horse  and  the  chariot  ; you  have  the  hurrying  crowd 
of  the  soldiers  on  foot  ; a river  ; drownings  ; the  succoring  of  war- 
riors on  the  opposite  bank  ; and,  in  a compartment  beyond,  you  have 
a walled  town  ; a storm,  the  assailants  climbing  ladders  ; the  defend- 
ers on  the  parapet;  the  upheld  shield;  the  down-thrust  pike  ; — a sad, 
but  yet  a stirring  picture,  bringing  to  your  mind  many  a historic 
scene  alike  memorable  and  melancholy.”  p.  95. 


24S 


APPENDIX. 


queror  are  dressed  in  short  kirtles  like  the  ancient  Egyptians; 
and  many  of  them  are  entirely  naked.  Those  on  the  side  of 
the  vanquished  are  habited  in  a long  and  pretty  close-fitting 
robe  to  their  ankles.  They  are  armed  indiscriminately  with 
square  shields  rounded  at  the  top,  and  carry  swords  or  clubs, 
or  an  instrument  resembling  the  reaping-sickle  now  in  use, 
which  they  seem  to  have  employed  as  a hook  to  bring  their 
antagonist  within  their  grasp,  when  seizing  him  by  the  hair, 
they  plunged  their  dagger  into  his  breast.  The  chief  of  the 
fugitive  party  is  fleeing  in  his  chariot  before  the  conqueror. 
His  greater  distance  and  diminished  power  are  represented 
by  his  inferior  size,  as  well  as  that  of  his  chariot  and  horses. 
His  shield-bearer  is  struck  with  an  arrow  in  his  back,  and  is 
turning  round  as  if  to  ward  off  a second  attack.  His  com- 
panion in  the  chariot,  who  appears  to  have  been  in  the  act 
of  fitting  an  arrow  to  his  bow,  alarmed  at  the  disaster,  looks 
round  towards  the  victorious  hero  with  a countenance  strongly 
expressive  of  rage  and  apprehension  ; evincing  a higher  state 
of  the  art  than  we  find  exhibited  in  any  of  the  tombs,  and 
which  we  could  hardly  conceive  to  have  existed  at  so  early  a 
period  in  the  history  of  the  art  of  sculpture  as  that  in  which 
this  is  believed  to  have  been  executed.  There  is  a fortress 
in  the  rear  of  the  fleeing  army,  with  a ladder  applied  to  the 
wall,  on  which  the  assailants  are  mounting  ; while  the  besieg- 
ed are  pushing  them  off  and  throwing  down  stones  upon 
them.  In  the  compartment  above  this,  the  fort  seems  to  be 
in  possession  of  the  assailants,  who  are  aiming  their  darts  at 
those  below,  to  make  them  surrender.  Some  of  them  are 
represented  hanging  over  the  wall,  wishing  to  drop  and  make 
their  escape,  but,  perceiving  they  must  fall  into  the  midst  of 
their  enemies  at  the  bottom,  they  are  afraid  to  let  go  their 
hold.  The  horror  of  their  situation  is  admirably  depicted.  In 
the  highest  tower,  a number  of  soldiers  are  raising  up  their 
hands  in  joyous  acclamation  at  their  success.  Beside  them 
is  an  instrument  like  a catapulta,  containing  a number  of 
arrows  undischarged  : with  this,  our  view  of  the  combat  is 
terminated. 

Passing  northward  from  the  gateway,  along  the  same 
front  of  the  propylon,  the  representation  of  a captured  town 


APPENDIX. 


249 


meets  our  view,  exhibiting  all  the  dreadful  acts  of  riot  and 
outrage  that  too  frequently  characterize  this  hideous  method 
of  glutting  the  vengeance  of  a savage  conqueror,  by  giving 
up  a town  to  be  sacked.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  piece, 
Ramses  is  seen  on  a throne,  which  is  surrounded  with  the 
flowering  lotus,  the  sacred  plant  of  the  Egyptians.  The 
tyings  of  his  head-dress  flow  down  upon  his  shoulders.  In 
his  left  hand  he  holds  a sceptre,  and  with  his  right  points  to 
a procession  below.  Two  banners  are  erected  behind  him. 
Near  this  great  personage,  another  v/arrior  seems  as  if  just 
alighted  from  his  chariot  : his  horses  are  held  by  three  attend- 
ants,— a long  tablet  of  hieroglyphics  runs  along  their  backs. 
This  figure  may  be  intended  to  represent  the  chief  of  the  ad- 
verse party  : he  stands  with  a submissive  and  disconsolate  air, 
and  seems  solicitous  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  throned 
personage,  who  is  entirely  occupied  with  a procession  of  indi- 
viduals advancing  towards  him,  each  with  a roll  in  his  hand. 
On  the  upper  part  of  the  wall  are  represented  some  smart 
skirmishings  about  a round  tower,  which  is  totally  abandoned  ; 
or  rather,  it  appears  to  have  been  left  unfinished.  In  different 
places,  over  the  town  and  round  about  it,  prisoners  with  their 
hands  tied  over  their  heads,  are  undergoing  flagellation,  or 
are  led  on  with  ropes  about  their  necks,  or  their  hands  tied  in 
the  same  posture  ; while  their  brutal  conquerers  are  pulling 
their  beards,  beating  them  with  clubs,  and  treating  them  Avith 
every  species  of  indignity.  Others  of  the  victors  are  solely 
intent  upon  plunder,  and  laying  their  spoil  upon  beasts  of 
burden.  Several  toavs  of  hieroglyphics  intervene,  after  which 
the  sculpture  again  commences  ; but  the  wall  is  so  shattered 
and  bedaubed  Avith  mud,  that  it  was  impossible  to  under- 
stand it. 

There  are  fifty-six  paces  between  the  propylon  and  the 
front  of  the  temple.”  “This  space,”  says  Champollion,  “is 
encumbered  Avith  the  enormous  ruins  of  the  largest  and  most 
magnificent  colossus  that  the  Egyptians  ever  elevated  ; I refer 
to  the  statue  of  Ramses  the  Great.  The  inscriptions  upon  it 
remove  all  doubt  to  whom  it  belongs.  The  royal  legends  of 
this  illustrious  Pharaoh  appear  in  grand  and  beautiful  hiero- 
glyphics, high  upon  the  arms,  and  are  many  times  repeated 


250 


APPENDIX. 


upon  the  four  faces  of  the  base.  This  colossus,  though  in 
a sitting  posture,  is  no  less  than  fifty-three  feet  in  height, 
leaving  out  of  account  the  base,  the  second  block  of  which  is 
about  thirty-three  feet  long  by  six  in  height.*  One  cannot 
but  admire  both  the  power  of  the  people  who  erected,  and  the 
dexterity  and  diligence  of  the  barbarians  who  destroyed,  this 
stupendous  work.” 

Dr.  Richardson  continues  the  description  as  follows  : — 
“ The  front  w all  of  the  temple  is  greatly  dilapidated,  and  what 
remains  of  it  does  not  indicate  that  imposing  grandeur  and 
profusion  of  ornament  that  generally  characterize  the  façade 
of  an  Egyptian  temple.  Passing  round,  however,  to  the  inside 
of  the  wall  (for  it  is  impossible  to  enter  by  the  door- way, 
which  has  been  thrown  down),  the  walls  are  seen  adorned  in 
the  usual  manner,  and  the  eye  meets  the  horrors  of  another 
battle  scene  equally  terrible  with  that  on  the  propylon.” 

Champollion  thus  describes  this  battle  scene.  “ Towards 
the  extremity  of  the  tablet,  on  the  left  of  the  spectator,  a 
chariot  bearing  king  Ramses  is  seen  rushing  through  the 
midst  of  the  field  of  battle,  wrhich  is  strewn  with  the  dead  and 
the  dying.  The  king  hurls  his  arrows  among  his  defeated 
enemies  ; behind  the  chariot,  upon  the  ground  which  the  con- 
querors have  just  left,  the  carcasses  of  the  slain  lie  heaped 
up,  near  which  in  great  confusion  are  the  horses  of  the  chief 
of  the  enemy,  called  Torokani,  who  is  himself  wounded  by  an 
arrow  in  his  shoulder,  and  is  leaning  over  his  broken  chariot. 
Under  the  feet  of  the  king’s  coursers  lie,  in  various  positions, 
the  bodies  of  Torokato,  chief  of  the  soldiers  from  the  country 
of  Nakbéson,  and  of  many  other  illustrious  warriors.  The  great 
Bactrian  chief,  Schiropasiro,  is  seen  retiring  from  the  banks 
of  the  river,  while  the  arrows  of  the  king  have  already  pier- 
ced Tiotouro  and  Simairrosi,  as  they  are  escaping  in  the  plain 
and  directing  their  course  to  the  village.  The  chiefs  flee 
towards  the  river,  into  which  the  horses  of  the  warrior  Krob- 


* “ The  colossus  is  unfortunately  broken  in  pieces,  but  every  frag- 
ment of  it  still  excites  admiration.  The  head  and  shoulders  are  20 
feet  long,  and  the  breadth  of  the  chest  is  22  feet  ; the  little  toe  of  the 
foot  is  three  feet  long.”  Henniker , p.  128. 


APPENDIX. 


251 


schatosi  plunge,  bearing  him  wounded  along  with  them. 
Many,  among  whom  are  Thotaro  and  Mafénina,  the  allies  of 
the  wound  of  Schéto  (the  Bactrians),  are  brought  up  before  the 
village  to  suffer  death  upon  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  some 
of  the  enemy,  among  whom  is  the  Bactrian  Sipapheco,  are 
represented  as  having  passed  in  safety,  and  they  are  seen 
securely  standing  upon  the  opposite  bank  among  the  crowd 
who  had  run  together  to  watch  the  event  of  the  battle. 
Amidst  this  gathered  crowd  of  people  is  seen  a group  of  in- 
dividuals earnestly  striving  to  resuscitate  a chieftain,  and 
slowly  withdrawing  from  the  river  where  he  was  drowned  ; 
they  hold  him  suspended  in  the  air  with  his  head  down,  and 
seem  attempting  to  force  out  the  water  which  has  strangled 
him  and  to  recall  him  to  life.  His  long  hair  is  streaming 
down  his  neck,  and  he  appears  to  experience  no  advantage 
from  the  careful  efforts  of  his  friends  ; his  physiognomy  and 
the  movements  of  his  attendants  sufficiently  indicate  that  this 
is  the  case.  Above  the  group  these  words  are  written. 

1 The  chief  of  the  dangerous  race  of  the  country  of  Schir- 
besch,  who  was  separated  from  his  warriors  while  fleeing 
from  the  king  on  the  banks  of  the  river.’  ” Here  the  wall  is 
destroyed,  and  prevents  us  from  pursuing  the  story  any  far- 
ther. 

Dr.  Richardson  thus  continues.  “ The  columns  in  front  of 
the  wall,  forming  the  piazza,  are  adorned  in  the  usual  fashion, 
with  representations  of  heroes  and  deities, — Isis,  Osiris,  Men- 
des,  the  hawk-headed  and  dog-headed  deities,  holding  scep- 
tres, and  receiving  offerings  of  lotus-flowers,  and  goblets, 
with  numerous  tablets  of  hieroglyphics.  That  on  the  right 
shoulder  of  the  large  broken  statue  occurs  frequently,  and  is 
nearly  the  same  with  that  of  the  heroic  personage  whose 
achievements  are  sculptured  along  the  wall.  He  is  seated 
on  a throne  ; his  face,  limbs,  and  chair  are  painted  blue,  like 
the  figure  of  Osiris  on  the  tombs.  The  front  of  these  columns 
is  formed  into  statues,  representing  Osiris  with  his  hands 
crossed  over  his  breast,  holding  the  crook  and  scourge  ; the 
lower  limbs  closed  up  in  the  shape  of  a mummy,  a row  of 
hieroglyphics  passing  down  the  front.  Four  of  these  statues 
are  still  remaining  on  the  east  side  of  the  pronaos  : they  con- 


252 


APPENDIX. 


sist  of  seven  stones  each,  and  are  about  twenty-two  feet  high. 
Facing  these,  at  the  distance  of  thirty-four  paces,  are  four 
other  columns,  exactly  similar.  In  all  of  them,  the  greater 
part  of  the  head  is  wanting  ; the  lower  part  of  the  face  and 
beard  alone  remain.  There  have  been  four  on  each  side  of 
the  door  of  the  pronaos , fronting  an  equal  number  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  court,  that  is,  sixteen  in  all  ; while  the 
northern  and  southern  sides  of  the  area,  have  been  bounded 
by  two  rows  of  columns,  forming,  with  the  sixteen  Osiris 
columns,  a magnificent  piazza  all  round  the  court.  Only  two 
of  these  columns  now  remain  on  the  northern  side,  and  three 
on  the  southern  : they  are  reeded  at  the  base  and  at  the  top, 
and  are  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  standing  upon  the  solid  rock, 
which  is  strewed  over  with  a slight  covering  of  sand.  In  the 
rear  of  the  eastern  row  of  these  statues,  there  are  fragments 
of  many  statues  of  black  granite.  One  of  them  has  the  head 
punched  off,  which  is  much  injured  by  the  fall  : the  nose  is 
broken,  but  the  ears  are  entire,  the  eyes  open,  but  not  per- 
forated ; and  the  whole  expression  of  the  countenance  is  re- 
markably placid  and  benign,  such  as  is  not  to  be  seen  in  the 
statuary  of  any  other  country.  On  the  back  of  one  of  the 
statues,  besides  the  hieroglyphics,  there  is  sculptured  the 
figure  of  a man,  with  the  right  hand  extended,  and  a staff  in 
the  left.  These  are  on  the  north  side  ; but  the  row  of  statues 
appears  to  have  been  continued  through  the  whole  breadth  of 
the  temple,  for,  on  the  south  side,  there  are  also  many  frag- 
ments of  statues.  Here  we  see  the  remains  of  the  body  and 
pedestal  of  that  noble  head  which  is  noAv  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum, under  the  appellation  of  the  Young  Memnon.  On  each 
side  of  the  pedestal  is  represented  the  elegant  device  of  two 
men  tying  the  lotus  round  what  has  been  called  the  stalk  of 
a table,  but  which  appears  to  me  to  resemble  the  instrument 
which  the  Roman  augurs  called  ligula , with  which  they 
examined  the  entrails  of  the  victims.  This  device  is  also 
exhibited  on  the  pedestal  of  the  statue  which  is  generally  con- 
sidered to  be  the  real  statue  of  Memnon,  and  on  that  of  his 
ancient  companion.  The  device  is  by  no  means  rare,  as  we 
have  seen  it  on  the  monolithic  niches  at  Deboode  and  Philoe, 
and  many  other  places. 


APPENDIX. 


253 


Advancing  about  eight  or  ten  paces  from  these  venerable 
fragments,  we  come  to  another  wall,  which,  on  the  east  side, 
is  covered  with  representations  of  Osiris,  Mendes,  the  sacred 
bull,  crowned  hawks,  hawk-headed  deities,  processions  of 
priests,  and  people  on  their  knees  presenting  offerings.  On 
the  other  side,  we  are  again  presented  with  a battle  scene, 
which  has  many  circumstances  in  common  with  those  already 
described  : the  hero  is  the  same,  and  the  object  of  attack  is  a 
fortified  tower,  as  in  the  others. 

Between  this  ruined  wall  and  the  next,  is  an  area  thirty- 
five  paces  in  length,  which  is  filled  up  with  a stupendous 
colonnade  of  eight  rows  of  columns,  six  in  each  row,  twenty- 
eight  of  which  are  still  remaining,  covered  with  sculptured 
figures  and  hieroglyphics.  The  two  middle  rows  are  higher 
and  larger  than  the  others,  and  have  fine  spreading  capitals, 
resembling  lotus  leaves.  The  ceiling  consists  of  large  flat 
stones,  ornamented  with  the  sacred  bird  and  tablets  of  hie- 
roglyphics.  The  further  wall  is  equally  ornamented  with 
sculpture  and  hieroglyphics,  with  processions  and  representa- 
tions of  Osiris  and  Isis  : the  latter  holds  in  her  hand  a 
graduated  staff,  which  rests  on  a crocodile,  which  rests  on 
* a globe.  This  wall  is  ornamented,  on  the  other  side,  with 
processions  of  sacred  boats  and  offerings  to  the  several 
deities.  Here,  we  find  another  colonnade  of  twenty  columns, 
two  in  a row.  The  ceiling  is  ornamented  with  stars  and 
boats,  a figure  of  Nephthe,  and  two  crocodiles.  The  next 
wall  is  ten  paces  distant  ; and  here,  among  other  allegorical 
devices,  we  perceive  portrayed,  the  hero  of  the  contests, 
seated  on  a throne,  beneath  a wide  spreading  tree,  his  head 
adorned  with  the  tutulus , surmounted  with  serpents  and 
feathers,  and  a square,  plaited  beard  beneath  his  chin  : his 
left  hand  is  folded  across  his  breast,  and  holds  the  sceptre 
up  to  his  shoulder  ; in  his  right,  he  grasps  the  sacred  Tau , 
which  rests  on  his  knee.  Numbers  of  men  are  performing 
genuflexions  before  him,  and  grasping  his  throne  with  their 
hands.  Before  them  stands  the  great  goddess  Isis,  with  a 
pen  in  her  hand,  which  she  is  about  to  withdraw  from  the 
last  letter  of  a hieroglyphic  inscription  on  the  cordate  fruit 


254 


APPENDIX. 


of  a tree,  apparently  the  Thebaic  palm.  Behind  her,  an 
ibis-headed  deity  (Thoth?)  has  just  completed  another  tablet 
of  hieroglyphics  on  another  fruit  of  the  same  kind  ; and  be- 
hind the  hero,  Horus  has  just  concluded  the  same  operation. 
On  examining  these  tablets,  they  are  found  to  he  the  same 
that  accompany  the  hero  through  all  the  battles.  Among 
the  animals  sculptured  upon  this  wall,  we  observed  the 
cameleopard  standing  over  water,  with  an  eye  above  him 
and  a sword  behind  him.  Beyond  this,  there  had  been 
another  chamber  with  another  colonnade,  of  which  only  four 
columns  now  remain.  This  side  of  the  wall  is  also  extremely 
interesting  for  its  sculptures  and  hieroglyphics.  In  one 
place,  a deity  is  exhibited  in  the  dress  of  a mummy,  his  arms 
crossed,  and  his  hands  holding  the  sceptre  of  Osiris,  bound 
round  with  the  lotus  ; a square  tablet,  of  curious  workman- 
ship, like  a breast-plate,  is  suspended  by  a chain  round  his 
neck.  Before  him  is  an  offering,  consisting  of  three  ante- 
lopes and  other  ingredients  ; a priest  stands  with  a censer 
in  his  hand,  and  another  is  pouring  a libation  from  a vase 
shaped  like  the  sacred  Tau,  upon  the  lotus  flowers,  over 
which  the  incense  is  burning.  The  other  wall  that  bounded 
this  chamber,  is  entirely  destroyed. 

We  have  now  passed  completely  through  this  noble  and 
most  interesting  ruin,  of  which  only  a skeleton  remains.  It 
has  been  about  200  feet  wide,  and  600  feet  long.  It  con- 
tained six  courts  and  chambers,  passing  from  side  to  side  of 
the  temple,  which  were  ornamented  with  about  160  columns, 
thirty  feet  high  : all  the  side  walls  have  been  broken  down, 
and  the  materials  carried  away.  A few  fragments  of  the 
party-w  alls  that  separated  the  apartments,  forty-eight  columns 
of  all  these  stately  colonnades,  and  a mass  of  the  propylon, 
testify  to  the  spectator  what  a noble  edifice  and  what  speci- 
mens of  art  once  adorned  this  memorable  spot,  and  send  him 
away  sorrowing  for  what  it  is  now.” 

Among  the  most  interesting  subterranean  excavations,  are 
the  Tombs  of  the  Kings,  in  the  valley  of  Biban-el-Maluk. 
They  lie  hid  in  the  bosom  of  a mountain,  and  are  stored  with 
the  beautiful  remains  of  ancient  art.  Their  general  appear- 


APPENDIX. 


255 


ance  is  described  as  follows  by  travellers  who  have  visited 
them. 

Says  Dr.  Richardson  : “ Their  general  appearance  is  that 
of  a continued  shaft  or  corridor  cut  in  the  rock,  in  some 
places  spreading  out  into  large  chambers;  in  other  places, 
small  chambers  pass  off  by  a small  door  from  the  shaft.  In 
places  where  the  rock  is  hard,  the  entrance  is  flush  with  the 
general  surface  of  the  rock,  and  is  rather  larger  than  the 
entrance  into  an  ordinary  mine,  being  about  six  feet  wide, 
and  eight  feet  high  : in  other  places,  where  the  rock  is  low 
and  disintegrated,  a broad  excavation  is  formed  on  the  sur- 
face, till  it  reaches  a sufficient  depth  of  solid  stone,  when 
it  narrows,  and  enters  by  a door  of  about  six  or  eight  feet 
wide,  and  about  ten  feet  high.  The  passage  then  proceeds 
with  a gradual  descent  for  about  100  feet,  widening  or 
narrowing  according  to  the  plan  or  object  of  the  architect, 
sometimes,  but  rarely,  with  side  chambers.  The  beautiful 
ornament  of  the  globe  with  the  serpent  in  its  wings,  is 
sculptured  over  the  entrance.  The  ceiling  is  black,  studded 
with  silyer  stars  ; and  the  vulture  with  outspread  wings, 
holding  a ring  and  a broad-feathered  sceptre  by  each  of  his 
feet,  is  frequently  repeated  on  it,  with  numerous  hieroglyph- 
ics, which  are  white  or  variously  colored.  The  walls  on  each 
side  are  covered  with  hieroglyphics  and  large  sculptured 
figures  of  the  deities  of  Egypt,  and  of  the  hero  for  whom  the 
tomb  was  excavated.  Sometimes,  both  the  hieroglyphics 
and  the  figures  are  wrought  in  intaglio  ; at  other  times,  they 
are  in  relief  ; but  throughout  the  same  tomb,  they  are  gene- 
rally all  of  one  kind.  The  colors  are  green,  blue,  red,  black, 
and  yellow,  on  a white  ground,  and  in  many  instances,  are 
as  fresh  and  vivid  as  if  they  had  not  been  laid  on  a month. 
Intermixed  with  the  figures,  we  frequently  meet  with  curious 
devices,  representing  tribunals,  where  people  are  upon  their 
trials,  and  sometimes  undergoing  punishment  ; the  prepara- 
tion of  mummies,  and  people  bearing  them  in  procession  on 
their  shoulders  ; animals  tied  for  sacrifice,  and  partly  cut  up  ; 
and  occasionally,  the  more  agreeable  pictures  of  entertain- 
ments, with  music  and  dancing,  and  well-dressed  people 
listening  to  the  sound  of  the  harp  played  by  a priest  with  his 


APPENDIX. 


256 

head  shaved,  and  dressed  in  a loose,  flowing  white  robe,  shot 
with  red  stripes.* 

The  shafts  or  corridors  are  of  different  lengths,  from  a 
hundred  to  between  three  and  four  hundred  feet,  or  more. 
At  the  end  of  them,  or  in  some  part  of  their  length,  there  is 
generally  one  large  chamber,  high  in  the  ceiling  and  beauti- 
fully ornamented,  in  the  centre  of  which  stands  the  sarcopha- 
gus, generally  of  granite,  and  in  the  shape  of  an  oblong 
square,  rounded  at  one  end,  and  covered  with  figures  of 
Osiris  and  Isis,  skeletons,  and  curious  devices.  It  is  gene- 
rally cracked  or  broken  into  several  pieces,  though  still  ad- 
hering. There  is  not  one  sarcophagus  in  the  tombs  of  the 
kings  that  is  entire.  The  only  lid  that  has  been  found 
unbroken,  is  that  of  the  handsomest  sarcophagus  in  the 
Thebaid,  in  what  has  been  called  ‘ the  harp  tomb’  ; it  is 
highly  polished,  and  quite  entire,  saving  a little  bit  that  is 
broken  at  the  projecting  feet.  In  some  of  the  tombs,  the 
shaft  continues  on  from  the  large  chamber,  with  nearly  its 
former  dimensions,  small  side  chambers  passing  off  on  either 
hand  ; or  in  others,  instead  of  side  chambers,  there  are  small 

* “ On  either  side  of  the  corridor  are  small  apartments,  which 
you  stoop  down  to  enter,  and  the  walls  of  which  you  find  covered 
with  paintings  ; scenes  of  life  faithfully  represented, — of  every  day 
life,  its  pleasures  and  labors,  the  instruments  of  its  happiness  and 
of  its  crimes.  You  see  the  labors  of  agriculture,  the  sower,  the 
basket,  the  plough,  the  steers  ; and  the  artist  has  playfully  depicted 
a calf  skipping  among  the  furrows.  You  have  the  making  of  bread, 
the  cooking  for  a feast;  you  have  a flower-garden  and  the  scene 
of  irrigation  ; you  see  couches  and  chairs,  such  as  might  at  this 
day  adorn  a drawing-room  in  London  or  Paris  ; you  have  vases  of 
every  form,  down  to  the  common  jug;  harps,  with  figures  bending 
over  them,  and  others  seated  and  listening;  barks,  with  large, 
curious,  and  many  colored  sails  ; and  lastly,  weapons  of  war,  the 
sword,  the  dagger,  the  bow,  the  arrow,  the  quiver,  spears,  helmets, 
and  dresses  of  honor.  From  the  corridor  with  these  lateral  cham- 
bers, you  enter  another,  long  and  dark,  leading  to  an  empty  apart- 
ment, large  and  lofty  ; and  thence  into  a third  passage,  and  other 
chambers  beyond,  which  are  gloomy,  dark,  and  have  a disagreeable 
smell.  The  colors  on  the  walls  are  much  faded  ; but  the  hero  of 
the  tomb  and  the  various  deities,  hieroglyphics  and  mysteries,  are 
every  where  to  be  seen.” — Scenes  and  Impressions , pp.  101 — 103. 


APPENDIX. 


excavations  in  the  side  of  the  corridor,  about  breast-high,  of 
the  average  length  of  the  human  body,  and  such  as  might 
serve  either  for  a grave  to  the  dead,  or  a bed  for  the  living  ; 
they  are  in  the  form  of  common  horse-troughs,  and  resemble 
exceedingly  those  in  the  catacombs  of  Naples,  Scily,  Malta, 
and  Alexandria.” 

The  following  extracts  from  a letter  of  Champollion’s  dated 
Thebes,  May  16,  1829,  give  a very  good  idea  both  of  the 
nature  of  Egyptian  tombs,  and  of  the  Egyptian  psychological 
system. 

“ I cannot  give  here  a detailed  description  of  these  tombs  ; 
many  months  spent  in  this  place  have  not  afforded  me  time  to 
examine  all  the  bas-reliefs , and  to  copy  all  the  most  interest- 
ing descriptions.  I will  give  you,  however,  a general  idea  of 
these  monuments  from  a rapid  and  concise  description  of  one 
of  them — that  of  Pharaoh  Ramses,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Mejamon.  The  decorations  in  the  royal  tombs  are  systema- 
tized, and  those  which  belong  to  one,  belong  to  nearly  all, 
with  the  exceptions  which  I shall  specify. 

The  peak  of  the  entrance  gate  is  adorned  with  a bas-relief 
(all  the  first  gates  of  the  royal  tombs  have  this),  which  is  in 
fact  the  resume  of  all  the  decorations  of  the  Pharaonic  tombs. 
It  is  a yellow  disk  in  the  midst  of  which  is  the  sun  at  the 
head  of  a ram  ; that  is  to  say,  the  setting  sun  entering  the 
lower  hemisphere  and  worshipped  by  the  king  upon  his 
knees  ; at  the  right  of  the  disk,  on  the  east,  is  the  goddess 
Nephthys,  and  at  the  left  (west)  the  goddess  Isis,  occupying 
the  two  extremities  of  the  course  of  the  god  in  the  upper 
hemisphere  ; by  the  side  of  the  sun,  and  in  the  disk,  there  is 
sculptured  a grand  scarabæus,  which  here,  as  elsewhere,  is 
the  symbol  of  regeneration  or  successive  new-birth  : the  king 
is  kneeling  upon  a high  mountain,  upon  which  the  feet  of  the 
two  goddesses  rest. 

The  general  opinion  refers  this  composition  to  the  deceased 
king.  During  his  life,  like  the  sun  in  his  course  from  east  to 
west,  he  imparted  life  to  Egypt,  and  was  the  source  of  all  the 
good,  both  physical  and  moral,  which  its  inhabitants  enjoyed. 
The  dead  Pharaoh  was  then  naturally  compared  to  the  sun, 
22* 


258 


APPENDIX. 


setting  and  descending  to  the  dark  hemisphere  below,  only  to 
sweep  forward  and  rise  anew  in  the  east,  to  diffuse  light  and 
life  upon  the  upper  world  (the  world  which  we  inhabit)  ; in 
like  manner,  the  dead  king  ought  to  become  renewed — to 
continue  his  transmigrations — to  inhabit  the  celestial  world, 
and  to  be  received  to  the  bosom  of  Ammon  the  universal 
Father. 

This  explication  is  not  of  my  own  invention  ; the  period  of 
conjectures  with  regard  to  old  Egypt  is  past,  and  this  results 
from  the  collective  legends  which  cover  the  royal  tombs. 

So  this  comparison  or  assimilation  of  the  king  to  the  sun  in 
its  two  states  at  different  times  of  the  day,  is  the  keystone, 
or  rather  the  original  thought  and  subject,  of  which  all  the 
other  bas-reliefs  are  but  the  successive  development. 

Upon  the  tablet  there  is  always  a legend  inscribed,  of  which 
the  following  is  a literal  translation.  ‘Behold  what  Osiris 
says,  the  king  of  Amenti  (the  western  region  inhabited  by 
the  dead)  : I have  made  a dwelling  in  the  sacred  mountain  of 
the  west,  as  did  the  other  great  gods  (the  kings  his  predeces- 
sors), for  thyself  Osiris,  king,  lord  of  the  world,  Ramses,  etc., 
yet  living.’ 

This  last  expression  would  prove,  if  it  were  necessary,  that 
the  tombs  of  the  Pharaohs,  those  immense  works  which  re- 
quired so  very  long  labor,  were  commenced  during  their  life- 
time ; and  that  one  of  the  first  cares  of  every  Egyptian  king 
was,  conformably  to  the  well  known  spirit  of  this  singular 
nation,  to  be  constantly  occupied  in  the  execution  of  a sepul- 
chral monument,  which  was  to  be  his  last  asylum. 

This  circumstance  well  explains  the  first  bas-relief  on  the 
left  as  you  enter  the  tombs.  The  tablet  Avas  evidently  de- 
signed to  encourage  the  king  in  his  lifetime,  and  to  relieve 
his  mind  from  the  sad  presage,  which  the  excavation  of  his 
tomb  while  in  full  vigor  and  health,  seemed  to  create.  This 
tablet  shows  Pharaoh  in  the  royal  costume,  presenting  him- 
self to  the  god  Phre,  who  is  upon  the  head  of  a hawk  ; that 
is,  to  the  sun  while  in  its  splendor  at  mid-day,  who  addresses 
to  his  representative  upon  the  earth  these  consoling  words  : 

‘Behold  what  Phre  says,  the  great  god,  the  lord  of  heaven. 


APPENDIX. 


259 


We  grant  you  many  days  to  reign  over  the  world,  and  to 
exercise  the  royal  prerogatives  of  Horus,  upon  the  earth.’ 

On  the  floor  of  the  first  corridor  in  the  tomb,  are  to  be  read 
both  the  magnificent  promises  made  to  the  king  with  regard 
to  his  life  upon  earth,  and  the  account  of  the  privileges  which 
are  reserved  for  him  in  the  celestial  regions.  It  seems  as  if 
these  legends  were  placed  here  to  give  attractiveness  to  the 
declivity  which  leads  into  the  halls  of  sarcophagus. 

After  this  pleasant  inscription,  one  meets  with  the  symboli- 
cal tablets — the  disk  of  the  sun  Criocephale,  coming  from  the 
east  and  advancing  towards  the  western  boundary,  which  is 
inscribed  with  a crocodile,  the  emblem  of  darkness,  and  where 
the  god  and  the  king  appear  in  the  usual  manner.  A long 
text  follows  containing  the  names  of  seventy-five  paredra  of 
the  sun  in  the  lower  hemisphere,  and  of  invocations  to  the 
divinities  of  the  third  order,  one  of  whom  presides  over  each 
of  the  seventy -five  sub-divisions  of  the  lower  world,  called 
Kelle , that  which  encompasseth,  a girdle,  a zone. 

A little  hall  into  which  usually  each  corridor  leads,  contains 
sculptured  images  and  paintings  of  the  seventy-five  paredra , 
preceded  or  followed  by  an  immense  tablet  containing  an 
abridged  summary  of  the  seventy -five  zones  and  their  inhabi- 
tants. Of  this  we  shall  speak  hereafter. 

Next  to  these  general  and  collective  tablets,  comes  a de- 
velopment of  the  details — the  wall-partitions  of  the  corridors 
and  halls  are  covered  with  a long  series  of  tablets  represent- 
ing the  march  of  the  sun  in  the  upper  hemisphere  (the  image 
of  the  king  during  his  life  time),  and  opposite,  the  march  of 
the  sun  in  the  lower  hemisphere  (the  image  of  the  king  after 
his  death). 

The  numerous  tablets  relative  to  the  march  of  the  god 
above  the  horizon  in  the  hemisphere  of  light,  are  divided  into 
two  series,  each  distinguished  by  a rich  folding-door,  sculp- 
tured, and  guarded  by  an  enormous  serpent.  These  are  the 
doors  of  the  twelve  hours  of  the  day  ; and  these  reptiles  have 
all  significant  names,  such  as  tek-ho , serpent  with  the  spark- 
ling face  ; sate  ‘mpefbal,  serpent  whose  eye  is  of  flame  ; tapen 
tho , horn  of  the  world,  &c.  &c. 

Near  the  first  folding  door,  are  figured  twenty-four  human 


260 


APPENDIX. 


forms  representing  the  twenty-four  astronomical  hours  of  the 
day,  having  a star  upon  their  heads  and  moving  tow'ards  the 
bottom  of  the  tomb,  as  if  to  indicate  the  course  of  the  god  : 
and  (we  speak  now  of  those  things  only  which  have  a promi- 
nent interest),  upon  each  of  the  twelve  hours  of  the  day, 
there  can  be  traced  an  image  of  the  bark  of  the  god,  naviga- 
ting the  celestial  river  in  the  primordial  fluid , or  œther , Avhich 
constitutes  the  principle  of  the  physical  creation  according  to 
the  old  Egyptian  philosophy  : two  gods  are  represented  in 
company  with  him,  who  alternately  aid  him  ; and  there  are 
figured  also  the  celestial  abodes  through  which  they  pass, 
and  the  mythological  scenes  appropriate  to  each  of  the  hours 
of  the  day. 

In  the  first  hour,  his  bari,  or  bark,  is  put  in  motion,  and  he 
receives  homage  from  the  spirits  of  the  east  ; among  the  tab- 
lets of  the  second  hour,  is  found  the  great  serpent  Apophis, 
the  brother  and  enemy  of  the  Sun,  watched  by  the  god  At- 
mou  ; at  the  third  hour  the  god  Sun  arrives  in  the  celestial 
zone,  where  he  decides  the  lot  of  souls  with  regard  to  the 
bodies  they  must  inhabit  in  their  new  transmigrations  ; the 
god  Atmou  is  there  seen  weighing  in  his  balance  the  human 
souls  which  successively  present  themselves.  One  of  these 
is  represented  as  condemned  ; he  is  carried  back  to  the  earth 
in  a bari  which  advances  towards  the  gate  guarded  by  Anu- 
bis,  and  conducts  to  the  rods,  the  emblems  of  celestial  justice  ; 
the  criminal  appears  under  the  form  of  an  enormous  sow, 
above  which  is  inscribed  in  broad  characteristics  gourmandisse 
or  gluttony,  without  doubt  the  capital  sin  of  the  delinquent, 
who  was  some  glutton  of  that  age. 

The  god  visits,  in  the  fifth  hour,  the  Elysian  fields,  inhab- 
ited by  happy  souls  reposing  from  the  labors  of  their  transmi- 
grations upon  earth.  They  carry  upon  their  heads  an  ostrich 
plume,  the  emblem  of  their  just  and  virtuous  conduct.  They 
are  seen  presenting  offerings  to  the  gods  ; or  under  the  su- 
perintendence of  one  who  oversees  the  pleasures  of  heaven, 
they  pluck  fruits  from  the  celestial  trees  of  this  paradise.  At 
a little  distance,  others  hold  in  their  hands  sickles  ; these  are 
the  souls  who  cultivate  the  fields  of  truth.  The  following 
is  their  legend.  ‘ They  make  libations  of  Avater,  and  oifer- 


APPENDIX. 


261 


ings  of  grain  from  the  fields  of  glory  ; they  hold  a sickle,  and 
reap  those  fields  which  are  divided  unto  them.  The  god  Sun 
saith  unto  them  : Take  your  sickles — reap  your  grain,  carry 
it  to  your  dwellings,  delight  yourselves,  and  present  to  the  gods 
a pure  offering.’  Others  are  seen  washing,  and  swimming, 
leaping,  and  sportihg  in  a basin  of  celestial  and  primordial 
water,  all  under  the  inspection  of  the  god  Celestial  Nile.  In 
the  following  hours,  the  gods  prepare  themselves  to  combat 
the  great  enemy  of  the  Sun,  the  serpent  Apophis.  They  arm 
with  spears,  and  load  themselves  with  nets,  because  the  mon- 
ster inhabits  the  waters  which  the  vessel  of  the  Sun  navi- 
gates. They  spread  their  nets  ; Apophis  is  taken  ; they  bind 
him  with  chains  ; they  draw  the  immense  reptile  from  the 
river,  by  means  of  a cable  which  the  goddess  Selk  attaches 
to  his  neck  ; this,  two  gods  pull,  with  the  help  of  a complica- 
ted machine  managed  by  the  god  Sev  (Saturn),  and  aided  by 
the  spirits  of  the  four  cardinal  points.  But  all  this  array 
would  have  proved  fruitless  against  the  efforts  of  Apophis, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  strong  hand  of  Ammon,  which  seizes 
the  rope,  and  puts  a stop  to  the  impetuosity  of  the  dragon. 
Finally,  at  the  eleventh  hour  of  the  day,  the  captive  serpent 
is  strangled  ; and  soon  afterwards  the  god  Sun  arrives  at  the 
extreme  point  of  the  horizon  and  begins  to  disappear.  The 
goddess  Netphe  (Rhea)  doing  the  duties  of  Tethys  among 
the  Greeks,  rises  to  the  surface  of  the  celestial  waters  ; and 
mounted  upon  the  head  of  her  son  Osiris,  whose  body  termi- 
nates like  that  of  a mermaid,  the  goddess  receives  the  vessel 
of  the  Sun,  and  the  Celestial  Nile,  the  old  Ocean  of  the  Egyp- 
tian mythology,  takes  them  off  in  his  immense  arms. 

The  march  of  the  sun  in  the  lower  hemisphere  (that  of 
darkness  during  the  twelve  hours  of  night),  that  is  to  say,  the 
counterpart  of  the  preceding  scenes,  is  found  sculptured  upon 
the  walls  of  the  royal  tombs  opposite  those  of  which  I have 
given  a brief  account.  There  the  god,  firmly  painted  in  black 
from  head  to  foot,  passes  through  the  seventy-five  circles  or 
zones,  over  which  as  many  divine  personages,  of  every  form, 
and  armed  with  swords,  preside.  These  circles  are  inhabited 
by  guilty  souls  who  undergo  divers  punishments.  Here  truly 
is  the  primitive  type  of  Dante’s  ‘ Hell  for  the  variety  of  tor- 


262 


APPENDIX. 


merits  is  surprising,  and  I am  not  astonished  that  some  travel- 
lers, frighted  by  these  scenes  of  carnage,  should  have  believed 
them  a proof  of  human  sacrifices  in  ancient  Egypt.  But  the 
legends  remove  all  doubt  on  this  point.  The  representations 
are  of  the  things  of  another  world,  and  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  wrongs  and  customs  of  this. 

The  guilty  souls  are  punished  in  a different  manner  in  most 
of  the  infernal  zones  which  the  sun  visits.  These  spirits, 
impure  and  constant  in  crime,  are  figured  almost  always  with 
a human  form,  sometimes  under  the  symbolical  form  of  a stork, 
or  of  a hawk  upon  the  human  head — painted  entirely  in  black, 
to  indicate  at  once  their  perverse  nature  and  their  sojourn  in 
the  abyss  of  darkness.  Some  are  strongly  tied  to  posts,  and 
the  guardians  of  the  zones,  brandishing  their  swords,  reproach 
them  with  the  crimes  they  have  committed  upon  earth;  others 
are  suspended  by  the  feet;  some,  having  their  hands  tied  upon 
their  breasts  and  their  heads  cut,  march  in  long  files  ; others 
having  their  hands  tied  behind,  drag  their  hearts  hanging 
from  their  breasts,  upon  the  ground.  Living  souls  are  made 
to  boil  in  huge  cauldrons,  perhaps  in  a human  form,  or  in  that 
of  a bird,  or  only  their  heads  and  their  hearts.  I have  faithful 
copies  of  this  immense  series  of  tablets  and  of  the  long  legends 
which  accompany  them.  In  each  zone,  and  near  the  sufferers, 
can  be  read  always  their  condemnation  and  the  pains  which 
they  are  to  suffer.  ‘ These  hostile  souls,’  it  is  said,  ‘ did  not 
see  our  god  when  he  darted  forth  rays  from  his  disk  ; they 
dwell  no  longer  in  the  terrestrial  world,  and  they  hear  not  the 
voice  of  the  great  god,  when  he  traverses  their  zones.’ 

Upon  the  opposite  walls  we  read  the  representation  of  happy 
souls.  4 They  have  found  grace  in  the  sight  of  the  great  god  ; 
they  inhabit  the  regions  of  glory,  where  they  live  a celestial 
life  ; the  bodies  which  they  have  abandoned  will  always  repose 
in  their  tombs,  so  long  as  their  spirits  delight  in  the  presence 
of  the  supreme  god.’ 

This  double  series  of  tablets,  then,  gives  us  the  Egyptian 
psychological  system , in  an  important  and  religious  point  of  view, 
that  of  reward  and  punishment.  We  find  completely  demon- 
strated all  which  the  ancients  have  told  us  respecting  the 
Egyptian  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  the  posi- 


APPENDIX. 


263 


tive  design  of  human  life.  It  was  certainly  a great  and  happy 
idea  to  symbolize  the  double  destiny  of  souls,  by  the  most 
striking  celestial  phenomenon,  the  course  of  the  sun  in  the 
two  hemispheres,  and  to  make  a painting  of  this  imposing  and 
magnificent  spectacle. 

The  psychological  representations  occupy  the  walls  of  the 
two  grand  corridors,  and  of  the  two  first  halls  in  the  tomb  of 
Ramses  V.  ; which  tomb  I have  selected  for  my  description, 
because  it  is  the  most  complete  of  all.  The  same  subject-,  but 
composed  with  an  astronomical  view  only,  and  upon  a more 
regular  plan,  because  it  is  made  a tablet  of  science,  i3  found 
traced  upon  the  ceilings,  and  occupies  the  whole  length  of  the 
second  corridor,  and  of  the  two  next  halls. 

The  grand  hall  of  the  tomb  of  Ramses  V.,  which  contains 
the  sarcophagus,  and  which  is  the  last  of  the  range,  surpasses 
all  the  others  in  grandeur  and  magnificence.  The  vault,  hol- 
lowed out  from  the  floor  and  beautifully  chiseled,  has  all  its 
paintings  in  excellent  preservation.  Their  freshness  is  such, 
that  it  is  only  by  a frequent  observation  of  the  same  fact  in 
the  monuments  of  Egypt,  you  can  be  persuaded  that  these 
frail  colors  have  endured  for  thirty  centuries.  We  find  re- 
peated here  also,  with  more  particularity  in  some  parts,  the 
march  of  the  sun  in  the  two  hemispheres.  The  walls  of  this 
vast  hall,  are  covered  throughout  with  painted  and  sculptured 
tablets,  which  contain  explicative  legends.  The  sun  is  still 
the  subject  of  the  bas-reliefs,  many  of  which  contain,  under 
emblematical  forms,  the  whole  Egyptian  system  of  cosmogony 
and  of  general  physics.  Its  mysticism  is  of  a most  subtle  kind, 
and  it  has  cost  me  much  study  to  arrive  at  the  true  meaning 
of  these  compositions.  I have  at  length  taken  copies  of  the 
whole. 

Such  in  their  general  features  and  design  are  the  royal 
tombs.  It  remains  that  I describe  some  of  their  particu- 
larities. 

The  tomb  of  Osiris  I.,  in  the  valley  of  Biban-el-Maluk,  has 
claimed  the  peculiar  attention  of  all  travellers  by  the  freshness 
of  its  paintings  and  the  fineness  of  its  sculptures.  But  the 
beautiful  catacomb  is  daily  perishing.  The  pillars  are  broken 
and  loose,  the  walls  are  falling  down,  and  the  painting  is  be- 


264 


APPENDIX. 


coming  rough  and  scaly.  I have  sketched  most  of  its  tablets, 
that  Europeans  may  form  an  idea  of  its  magnificence.  I have 
sketched  likewise  the  series  of  people,  represented  in  a bas- 
relief  in  the  first  hall.  From  this  we  learn  the  divers  races 
of  men  known  in  Egypt.  Horus,  the  shepherd  of  the  people, 
is  here  represented  leading'  twelve  men,  who  belong  to  four 
distinct  races.  The  three  first  (those  nearest  the  god)  are  of 
a dark  red  color  ; they  have  well  shaped  figures,  a pleasant 
physiognomy,  noses  slightly  aquiline,  long  twisted  hair,  and 
are  clothed  in  white.  The  legend  describes  them  thus,  rôt- 
en-ne-rôme  ; the  race  of  men , that  is,  by  way  of  excellence, 
the  Egyptians. 

The  three  who  follow  next  are  very  different  in  aspect.  Their 
complexion  is  yellow  and  swarthy  ; their  noses  are  very  aqui- 
line— their  beards  are  long,  black,  and  terminate  in  a point. 
Their  clothing  is  of  various  colors,  and  they  are  designated 
by  the  name  of  namou. 

The  three  next  are  easily  known  as  Negroes.  They  are 
here  called  nahasi. 

The  three  last  are  of  a delicate  white  complexion  ; their 
noses  are  straight  or  slightly  arched  ; their  eyes  blue  ; their 
beards  are  of  a light  or  red  color,  and  they  are  tall  in  figure. 
They  are  clothed  with  the  skins  of  oxen,  and  are  painted  like 
savages.  These  are  named  tamhou. 

In  comparing  this  tablet  with  the  corresponding  one  in  the 
other  royal  tombs,  I am  convinced  that  it  was  the  design  to 
represent  here  the  inhabitants  of  the  four  parts  of  the  world, 
according  to  the  ancient  Egyptian  system.  1.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  Egypt.  2.  The  Asiatics.  3.  The  proper  inhabitants 
of  Africa — the  Negroes.  4.  The  Europeans. 

The  most  grand  and  magnificent  of  all  the  tombs  in  the 
valley  of  Biban-el-Maluk  was  that  of  the  successor  of  Ram- 
meir,  Ramses-Me'iamoun  ; but  now  the  air  has  tarnished  the 
brightness  of  the  colors  which  cover  most  of  the  sepulchres. 
It  is  of  interest  on  account  of  eight  little  halls  which  pierce 
laterally  the  walls  of  the  first  and  second  corridors,  and  which 
are  filled  with  important  sculptures.  These  I have  faithfully 
copied.  One  of  these  little  halls  contains,  among  other  things, 
representations  of  a kitchen  with  its  uses  j another  exhibits 


APPENDIX. 


265 


the  most  rich  and  costly  furniture  ; a third  is  a complete  arse- 
nal, where  are  arms  of  all  kinds,  military  ensigns  of  the  Egyp- 
tian legions,  and  royal  barges  with  the  decorations.  Here  also 
is  found  a symbolical  tablet  of  the  Egyptian  year,  represented 
by  six  images  of  the  Nile,  and  six  images  of  Egypt  personified. 
In  one  of  these  little  recesses  I have  copied  the  two  famous 
harp-players  with  all  their  colors. 

Such  in  general,  as  I have  described,  is  Biban-el-Maluk. 
I hasten  now  to  return  to  Thebes.  I ought  perhaps  to  add 
with  regard  to  the  royal  tombs,  that  they  all  exhibit  upon  the 
walls  written  proof,  that  for  many  ages  they  have  been  aban- 
doned and  only  visited  by  curious  men  of  leisure,  who  have 
thought  to  immortalize  themselves,  by  roughly  sketching  their 
names  upon  the  bas-reliefs  and  paintings,  which  they  have  in 
this  way  disfigured.  There  are  found  the  names  of  Egyptians 
of  all  ages — of  the  old  Romans  under  the  republic — of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  under  the  first  emperors  ; of  Copts,  who 
accompany  their  names  with  humble  prayers — finally,  the 
names  of  travellers,  who,  through  love  of  science,  war,  com- 
merce, danger,  or  leisure,  have  visited  these  solitary  tombs. 
I have  gathered  the  most  remarkable  of  these  inscriptions, 
partly  for  their  contents,  and  partly  for  their  interest  simply 
as  examples  of  ancient  writing.” 

Among  the  largest  and  most  beautiful  of  Egyptian  statues, 
are  two  which  were  discovered  at  Thebes.  One  of  these, 
the  vocal  colossus  as  it  is  called  by  the  Arabs,  is  the  statue 
of  Memnon,  as  he  is  named  in  a Greek  inscription,  or  Ameno- 
phis  Memnon,  the  seventh  king  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty, 
as  a hieroglyphic  inscription  represents.  These  names  de- 
signate the  same  person.  The  statues  are  thus  described  by 
Dr.  Richardson. 

“We  approached  them  with  a heartfelt  pleasure  and 
veneration,  feeling  that,  in  being  there,  we  had  accomplished 
an  object  worthy  of  our  toil  ; and  regarding  the  moment  that 
brought  us  to  the  foot  of  Memnon,  as  one  of  the  most  gratify- 
ing in  the  whole  course  of  our  Egyptian  tour.  Standing  by 
its  side,  with  our  hands  upon  the  pedestal,  and  looking  up  to 
the  disintegrated  frame  of  this  monumental  colossus,  which 
23 


266 


APPENDIX. 


for  ages  had  been  the  wonder  of  the  world,  the  theme  of 
the  philosopher,  the  poet,  and  the  historian  ; every  scar  on 
its  surface  deepened  our  interest  in  its  fate.  Our  enthusiasm 
became  more  intense  as  we  continued  to  look  on,  and  we 
felt  for  the  stony  Memnon,  almost  as  we  should  have  done 
for  Memnon  himself.  Our  joy  would  have  been  complete, 
if  history  could  have  told  us  the  tale  of  this  eventful  plain, 
since  the  time  that  the  statue  of  Memnon  became  an  occu- 
pant of  the  soil.  These  two  statues  are  nearly  equal  in  size, 
about  52  feet  high,  and  40  feet  asunder.  The  throne  on 
which  they  rest  is  30  feet  long,  eighteen  feet  broad,  and 
between  7 and  8 feet  high.  The  head-dress  of  the  southern- 
most statue  is  beautifully  wrought,  as  are  also  the  shoulders, 
which  remain  uninjured.  The  massy  hair  projects  from  be- 
hind the  ears,  like  that  of  the  Sphinx.  There  is  a row  of 
hieroglyphics  down  the  back,  but  no  inscription  or  hiero- 
glyphics on  the  pedestal.  The  sides  of  the  throne  are  highly 
ornamented,  with  the  elegant  device  of  two  bearded  figures 
tying  the  stem  of  the  flexible  lotus  round  the  ligula.  The 
statue  is  in  a sitting  posture,  the  hands  resting  on  the  knees. 
Outside  of  each  leg  is  a small  statue,  with  a spiked  crown 
on  its  head,  and  the  arms  hanging  down  by  its  side.  Be- 
tween the  feet  is  another  small  statue,  that  reaches  nearly 
to  the  calf  of  the  leg.  The  northern-most  of  the  two  statues, 
which  appears  to  be  that  of  the  vocal  Memnon,  is  in  the  same 
posture,  with  a similar  figure  between  the  feet,  and  on  each 
side  of  the  legs.  Four  courses  form  the  body  and  part  of 
the  neck,  and  one  forms  the  head  and  the  remaining  part  of 
the  neck.  It  is  fashioned  entirely  like  the  upper  part  of  the 
other  statue,  with  tablets  of  hieroglyphics,  with  the  goose 
and  egg  over  the  back  between  them.  Both  statues  are 
attired  in  the  same  drapery.” 

Near  the  propylon  of  the  temple  of  Luxor,  are  two  very 
beautiful  obelisks.  Says  the  author  of  the  Modern  Traveller: 
“ They  are  in  perfect  preservation  ; they  are  about  80  feet 
high,  and  10  feet  square  at  the  base,  and  are  covered  all 
round,  from  top  to  bottom,  with  deeply-cut  hieroglyphics, 
beginning  at  the  top  with  the  mitred  hawk,  emblematic  of 
their  dedication  to  the  sun.”  The  author  of  Scenes  and  bn- 


APPENDIX. 


267 


pressions , p.  82,  thus  describes  them.  “ Before  the  grand 
entrance  of  this  vast  edifice,  two  lofty  obelisks  stand  proudly 
pointing  to  the  sky,  fair  as  the  daring  sculptor  left  them. 
The  sacred  figures  and  hieroglyphic  characters  are  beauti- 
fully cut  into  the  hard  granite,  and  have  the  sharp  finish  of 
yesterday.  The  very  stone  looks  not  discolored.  You  see 
them  as  Cambyses  saw  them,  when  he  stayed  his  chariot 
wheels  to  gaze  up  at  them,  and  the  Persian  war-cry  ceased 
before  these  acknowledged  symbols  of  the  sacred  element  of 
fire.  Very  noble  are  all  these  remains,  and  on  the  propylon 
is  a war-scene  much  spoken  of  ; but  my  eyes  were  con- 
tinually attracted  towards  the  aspiring  obelisks,  and  again 
and  again  you  turn  to  them  with  increasing  wonder  and 
silent  admiration.”* 

It  were  easy  to  multiply  descriptions  of  the  various  monu- 
ments of  Egyptian  skill.  But  we  must  conclude  here,  simply 
observing  with  Champollion,  that  “ no  people,  either  ancient 
or  modern,  ever  conceived  the  arts  of  architecture  and  sculp- 
ture on  so  sublime  and  so  grand  a scale  as  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians. Their  conceptions  were  those  of  men  a hundred  feet 
high.” 


[ O.  p.  75.  ] 

Similarity  of  Egyptian  and  Hebrew  Writing  and 
Language. 

[What  the  author  has  here  stated,  in  terms  which  imply 
almost  a doubting  state  of  mind  with  respect  to  the  facts  in 
question,  is  regarded  as  being  a plain  matter  of  fact,  by  all 
good  Hebrew  critics  and  grammarians  at  the  present  time. 
One  need  only  to  read  the  interpretation  of  the  names  of  the 
Hebrew  alphabet  successively,  in  order  to  believe  that  ori- 
ginally there  was  some  analogy  between  the  shape  of  the 
respective  letters,  and  the  objects  by  whose  names  they  are 

* At  the  entrance  of  the  temple  of  Luxor,  there  still  exist  two 
obelisks  which  are  an  hundred  feet  high,  and  which  are  carved  from 
a single  block. 


268 


APPENDIX. 


called.  For  example  ; beginning  with  the  alphabet  we  pro- 
ceed thus  ; o.r,  house , camel , door,  hollow , hook,  armour , travel- 
ling-scrip, serpent , hand,  hollow-hand , ox-goad,  water,  Jish, 
prop,  eye,  mouth,  screech-locust , ear,  head,  tooth,  cross.  These 
make  out  the  whole  original . alphabet  of  the  Hebrews  ; and 
no  one  can  well  suppose  that  these  names  rather  than  others 
were  given  to  the  letters,  except  on  account  of  some  resem- 
blances to  the  objects  which  bore  these  names. 

That  the  resemblances  to  these  respective  objects,  are  not 
found  in  the  present  Hebrew  alphabet,  is  no  argument  against 
the  positions  stated  above  ; for  all  critics  are  agreed,  that 
the  ancient  Hebrew  letters  have  exchanged  their  forms  for 
those  of  a later  alphabet.  But  whether  any  alphabet  now 
known  exhibits,  in  any  considerable  degree,  the  forms  of  the 
original  Hebrew  alphabet,  may  well  be  questioned.  Some 
critics  have  maintained,  that  the  Samaritan  alphabet  is  sub- 
stantially that  of  the  old  Hebrew  ; and  this,  because  letters 
of  this  character  are  found  on  the  coins  which  Avere  stamped 
in  the  times  of  the  Maccabees.  But  the  late  work  of  Kopp, 
on  the  subject  of  the  Palaeography  of  the  Shemitish  langua- 
ges, has  rendered  such  a supposition  quite  uncertain.  The 
same  Avork  has  shown  us  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  that 
the  present  square  Hebrew  alphabet,  instead  of  being  brought 
from  Babylon  by  the  returning  exile  Jews,  as  has  been  gen- 
erally maintained,  is  the  offspring  of  a kind  of  Estrangelo  or 
old  Syriac  alphabet,  such  as  is  now  still  visible  on  the  ruins 
of  Palmyra  and  Tadmor  in  the  Syrian  desert.  There  can, 
indeed,  be  but  little  doubt  at  present,  that  the  square  Hebrew 
character  has  taken  its  rise,  by  gradual  deflections  from  the  an- 
cient character,  since  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  very  inspection  of  the  HebreAv  alphabet,  as  the  letters 
are  represented  in  HebreAv  names,  is  sufficient  to  shoAV,  that 
the  same  principle  regulated  the  choice  of  names  here, 
which  regulated  the  choice  of  hieroglyphs  in  Egyptian  Avrit- 
ing  ; viz.  each  name  of  a letter,  began  with  the  same  sound 
or  letter  as  that  which  the  name  designated  ; e.  g.  denoted 
s;  rpa,  a;  Vfc/’a,  a,  etc. 

In  like  manner  Avith  regard  to  the  voAvels  ; three  letters 
only  of  the  original  alphabet  Avere  voAvels,  and  these  not 


APPENDIX. 


269 


properly  and  constantly,  but  occasionally  and  as  it  were 
accidentally.  The  letters  x,  1,  •»  are,  on  this  account,  called 
vowel-letters  by  Gesenius,  because  they  occasionally  supplied 
the  place  of  vowels.  Even  when  thus  used,  they  were  some- 
times inserted  and  sometimes  omitted  ; and  this,  in  the  very 
same  words,  occurring  repeatedly  in  the  same  paragraph. 
Any  one  acquainted,  therefore,  with  the  nature  of  the  Shem- 
itish  languages,  and  knowing  how  continually  facts  are  oc- 
curring, in  respect  to  the  quiescent  letters  (as  they  are  called), 
of  the  same  nature  as  occur  in  regard  to  the  vowels  in  the 
Egyptian  hieroglyphs  which  are  now  inserted  and  now 
omitted,  will  not  think  it  in  the  least  strange,  that  such  a 
practice  existed  in  Egyptian  writing.  He  finds  it  on  every 
page  of  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  Syriac,  Arabic,  and  Samaritan  ; 
and  therefore  he  may  well  expect  to  find  it  in  the  language 
of  a neighboring  country. 

In  regard  to  the  relation  of  the  hieroglyphic  writing  and 
language,  to  that  of  the  Hebrew  and  its  sister  dialects  (of 
which  M.  Greppo  speaks  on  p.  75  of  this  work),  one  can 
hardly  fail  to  recognize  the  fact  itself,  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  Shemitish  languages.  The  Coptic  alphabet  (the  form  of 
which  is  taken  in  the  main  from  the  Greek,  and  which 
gradually  supplanted  the  hieroglyphic  alphabet,  after  the 
Greek  dynasty  had  commenced  in  Egypt),  contains  not  only 
the  Greek  sounds,  but  also  several  of  the  Hebrew  ones 

which  the  Greek  alphabet  could  not  exhibit.  The  Coptic  Xj 


(Fei)  is  equivalent  to  the  Hebrew  i (Vav)  i.  e.  f or  v ; so  the 
Coptic  (Khei)  equals  the  Hebrew  5 or  kh  ; the  Coptic  3 
(Hori)  is  the  same  as  the  Hebrew  r\  = h;  the  Coptic 


(Sjansjia)  is  like  the  Hebrew  s = ts  or  zs  ; the  Coptic 
(.Ssima)  is  the  Hebrew  Sin  •»  = s strong  ; the  Coptic  XLJ 
(Shei)  = the  Hebrew  is  Shin , = sh.  The  Coptic  alphabet 
has  also  one  syllabic  letter,  i.  e.  T = ti  ; which  however 


is  to  be  considered  not  properly  as  a letter  of  the  alphabet, 
but  in  such  a light  as  our  «fee. 


23* 


270 


APPENDIX. 


The  similarity,  then,  of  the  Coptic  and  Hebrew  alphabetic 
sounds,  is  very  great.  This  similarity  also  might  be  easily 
traced  in  the  forms  of  many  of  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphs,  as 
well  as  in  their  sounds.  But  a full  development  of  this  subject 
cannot  be  made,  until  Champollion  shall  have  completed  his 
researches  in  regard  to  the  language  and  written  characters 
of  ancient  Egypt.  The  probability  seems  to  be,  that  much 
more  relation  will  be  shown  to  have  existed  between  the  old 
Egyptian  and  the  Hebrew,  than  has  hitherto  been  supposed. 
And  this  it  will  be  very  natural  to  believe,  at  least  in  regard  to 
ivritten  characters  ; for  as  Moses  ioas  learned  in  all  the  ivisdom 
of  the  Egyptians , who  can  well  suppose  that  some  of  his  writ- 
ten characters  in  Hebrew,  where  these  agreed  in  sound  with 
the  Egyptian  letters,  would  not  be  more  or  less  conformed  to 
the  Egyptian  mode  of  writing  them?  Nay  more;  when 
Abraham  went  down  into  Egypt,  he  appears  to  have  had  no 
difficulty  in  conversing  with  Pharaoh  and  his  servants,  Gen. 
xii.  14  seq.  This  might  be,  because  the  latter  understood 
the  Hebrew  or  Canaanitish  language  ; or  because  Abraham 
understood  Egyptian.  But  a more  probable  reason  would 
seem  to  be  ; such  a similarity  of  dialects,  that  conversation 
could  be  carried  on  intelligibly,  at  least  by  the  help  of  ges- 
tures and  looks. 

Every  Hebrew  student  must  feel  an  interest  in  having 
more  light  thrown  upon  this  subject  ; and  more  he  may  expect 
will  yet  be  thrown  upon  it.  M.  S.] 


[ P.  p.  76.  ] 

Numeration  by  Hieroglyphics. 

“The  units  are  expressed  by  single  upright  strokes,  and 
they  are  always  repeated  to  mark  any  number  below  ten. 
The  number  ten  is  represented  by  an  arch,  either  round  or 
angular.  The  repetition  of  these  arches  produces  the  repeti- 
tion of  as  many  tens  up  to  ninety.  A hundred  is  exhibited 
by  a figure  very  much  resembling  our  nine  ; [it  resembles 


APPENDIX. 


271 


the  second  sign  in  cartouche  a No.  3 — the  sign  which  ans- 
wers to  the  Greek  letter  F.]  This  same  figure  is  again  re- 
peated for  every  hundred,  for  any  number  below  one  thou- 
sand. [One  thousand  is  represented  by  a cross,  over  which 
is  a figure  like  an  inverted  3,  opening  to  the  left.]  Thus  to 
express  the  numbers  two,  three,  four,  seven,  &c.,  alike,  we 
are  to  mark  two,  three,  four,  or  seven  upright  strokes.  To 
signify  twenty,  or  thirty,  or  ninety,  we  are  to  write  two, 
three,  or  nine,  angular  or  round  arches.  The  number  42, 
for  instance,  is  expressed  by  four  arches,  which  mean  four 
times  ten  = forty  ; and  by  two  upright  strokes,  which  mean 
two. 

To  signify  the  ordinal  numbers,  we  are  to  place  at  the  top 
of  each  of  the  numbers,  a figure  [which  resembles  our  oo  (8) 
placed  horizontally]  ; thus  a single  upright  mark  with  the 
horizontal  8 over  it  would  signify  first,  two  upright  strokes 
with  this  figure  over  them,  would  signify  second  ; the  signs 
which  stand  for  forty-two,  with  this  figure  over  them,  would 
signify  forty-second , &c.  ; and  if  this  figure  be  changed  into 
one  like  the  three  sides  of  a square,  then  the  numbers  will 
signify  the  first  time , the  second  time , the  forty-second  time , &c.” 

( Spineto , Lect.  ii.  p.  72.) 


[ Q-  p.  ill.  ] 

Doubts  as  to  the  escape  of  Pharaoh  from  the  catastrophe 
at  the  Red  Sea. 

[ The  modesty  and  ingenuity  which  M.  Greppo  has  exhibit- 
ed, in  the  discussion  which  gives  occasion  to  the  present  note, 
certainly  entitle  him  to  much  credit  and  approbation.  Still  it 
seems  to  me  very  doubtful,  whether  the  exegesis  in  question 
can  be  supported.  When  God  says,  in  Exod.  xiv.  17,  “I  will 
get  me  honor  upon  Pharaoh,  and  upon  all  his  host,  upon  his 
chariots,  and  upon  hi3  horsemen  and  when  he  repeats  the 
same  sentiment  in  Exod.  xiv.  18  ; the  natural  inference  seems 
to  be,  that  the  fate  of  Pharaoh  would  be  the  same  as  that  of 


272 


APPENDIX. 


his  host,  his  chariots  and  his  horsemen.  Accordingly,  in  Exod. 
xiv.  23  it  is  said,  “The  Egyptians  pursued,  and  went  in  after 
them  [the  Hebrews]  into  the  midst  of  the  sea,  every  horse  of 
Pharaoh  and  his  chariot,  and  his  horsemen,  into  the  midst  of 
the  sea.”  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  iasnn  riy-js  bte-Vs  may 
mean,  all  the  horses  of  Pharaoh  and  all  his  chariots,  viz.  all 
those  which  belonged  to  his  army.  But  is  it  not  the  natural 
implication  here,  that  Pharaoh  was  at  the  head  of  his  army 
and  led  them  on  ? And  when  in  Exod.  xiv.  28  it  is  said,  that 
of  all  the  host  of  Pharaoh  that  came  into  the  sea  after  the 
Israelites,  there  remained  not  so  much  as  one  of  them,  is  not  the 
natural  implication  here,  that  Pharaoh  at  the  head  of  his  army 
went  into  the  sea,  and  perished  along  with  them  ? 

In  the  triumphal  song  of  Moses  and  the  Hebrews,  recorded 
in  Exod.  xv.,  the  implication  in  verses  4,  19,  seems  most  na- 
turally to  be,  that  Pharaoh  was  joined  with  his  army  in  the 
destruction  to  which  they  were  subjected. 

But  still  more  does  this  appear,  in  Ps.  cvi.  11,  where  it  is 
said,  “ The  waters  covered  their  enemies  [the  Egyptians]  ; 
there  was  not  one  of  them  left.”  How  could  this  well  be  said, 
if  Pharaoh  himself,  the  most  powerful,  unrelenting,  and  bitter 
enemy  which  they  had,  was  still  preserved  alive,  and  permit- 
ted afterwards  to  make  new  conquests  over  his  southern 
neighbors  ? This  pasage  M.  Greppo  has  entirely  overlooked. 

In  regard  to  Ps.  cxxxvi.  15,  the  exegesis  of  our  author  is 
ingenious  ; but  it  will  not  bear  the  test  of  criticism.  For  ex- 
ample ; in  Exod.  xiv.  27  it  is  said,  “ And  the  Lord  oveiihrew 
the  Egyptians,  in  the  midst  of  the  sea;  where  the  Hebrew 
word  answering  to  overthrew  is  from  But  in  Ps. 

cxxxvi.  15,  the  very  same  word  is  applied  to  Pharaoh  and  his 
host;  “And  he  overthreiv  (nysi)  Pharaoh  and  his  host.  In  both 
cases  (which  are  exactly  the  same),  the  word  -y:  properly 
means,  he  drave  into  (hineintreiben,  Gesenius).  Now  if  the 
Lord  drave  the  Egyptians  into  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and  also 
drave  Pharaoh  and  his  host  into  the  midst  of  the  sea,  we  can- 
not well  see  how  Pharaoh  escaped  drowning.  Accordingly, 
we  find  that  such  an  occurrence  is  plainly  recognized  by 
Nehemiah  ix.  10, 11,  when,  after  mentioning  Pharaoh,  his  ser- 
vants, and  his  people,  this  distinguished  man  speaks  of  the 


APPENDIX. 


273 


“ persecutors  of  the  Hebrews  as  thrown  into  the  deep,  as  a 
stone  in  the  mighty  waters.” 

As  to  any  difficulties  respecting  chronology  in  this  case,  about 
which  M.  Greppo  seems  to  be  principally  solicitous,  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  the  subject  of  ancient  Egyptian  chronology  is 
yet  very  far  from  being  so  much  cleared  up,  as  to  throw  any 
real  embarrassments  in  the  way  of  Scripture  facts.  More 
light  will  give  more  satisfaction — as  in  the  famous  case  of  the 
zodiacs,  so  finely  described  in  the  last  chapter  of  M.  Greppo’s 
book. 

Besides  the  occasional  references  thus  made  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  to  the  catastrophe  of  Pharaoh,  other  accounts 
among  ancient  writers,  even  of  heathen  origin,  seem  to  advert 
to  the  same  occurrence.  Thus  in  Eusebius’  Prœp.  Evan- 
gelicœ , ix.  29,  there  is  an  extract  from  a tragic  poem  of  an 
Alexandrine  Jew,  by  the  name  of  Ezekiel  (of  what  age 
is  uncertain,  only  that  he  probably  lived  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Christian  era),  in  which  this  poet  represents 
the  Egyptians  as  exclaiming,  “Already  are  they  [the  Hebrews] 
beyond  the  sea,  and  the  huge  wave  comes  roaring  toward  us. 
Let  us  fly  toward  our  homes  (cries  every  soldier  as  he  sees 
this),  for  the  hand  of  the  Most  High  is  with  them.  To  them 
he  affords  aid  ; to  us  he  brings  destruction. — Then  was  the 
pass  of  the  Red  Sea  overwhelmed  with  the  waves,  and  the 
army  was  destroyed.” 

In  Diodorus  Siculus  (Biblioth.  hi.  39),  is  a passage,  which 
seems  pretty  plainly  to  be  a vestige  of  tradition  among  the 
Greeks,  respecting  the  extraordinary  movement  of  the  waters 
in  the  Red  Sea.  He  is  speaking  of  this  sea,  and  of  the 
Ichthyopliagi  on  the'  borders  of  it,  when  he  says  ; “With  them 
is  current  a tradition,  which  has  been  preserved  from  ancient 
times  (or  from  ancestors),  that  there  was  once  a great  ebb  of 
the  waters  of  the  bay,  the  whole  place  becoming  dry  which 
presents  a greenish  appearance,  the  sea  passing  over  to  the 
opposite  parts,  so  that  dry  land  appeared  at  its  bottom  ; but 
that  the  huge  flood,  returning  again,  restored  the  pass  to  its 
former  condition.”  One  can  hardly  fail  to  acknowledge  here, 
vestiges  of  ancient  history  or  report,  in  regard  to  the  pass  of 
the  Hebrews  through  the  Red  Sea. 


274 


APPENDIX. 


Justin  also  (Hist,  xxxvi.  2),  after  relating  a strange  mixture 
of  truth  and  error  respecting  the  Hebrews,  finally  represents 
them  as  driven  out  of  Egypt,  because  they  had  a leprous  dis- 
ease (scabies  et  vitiligo).  He  then  states,  that  “by  theft  the 
Hebrews  carried  away  the  sacred  things  of  the  Egyptians  ; 
which  the  Egyptians  seeking  to  reclaim  by  force  of  arms, 
were  compelled  to  return  home  by  reason  of  tempests .”  Plainly 
this,  though  sufficiently  distorted,  has  a relation  to  the  catas- 
trophe related  in  the  book  of  Exodus. 

The  reader  who  venerates  the  Scriptures,  will  not  be  unin- 
terested in  these  brief  notices,  which  serve  to  confirm  the 
narrations  that  are  contained  in  the  books  of  Moses.  M.  S.] 


[ R.  p.  141.  ] 

Chronology  of  the  Septuagint  and  Samaritan  copies  of 
the  Old  Testament. 

[In  regard  to  the  affirmation  of  M.  Greppo,  that  neither  the 
chronology  of  the  Hebrew  and  Vulgate,  nor  that  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint, nor  of  the  Samaritan,  is  to  be  considered  as  true  ; if 
this  be  the  case,  it  will  be  difficult  to  see  of  what  avail  will 
be,  “ the  entire  liberty  which  the  Church  has  given  to  every 
individual  to  chose  which  he  pleases.”  If  neither  is  true,  of 
what  great  consequence  can  it  be  which  he  chooses  ? 

In  respect  to  the  Septuagint  and  Samaritan  chronologies, 
however,  mature  criticism  will  hardly  agree  with  M.  Greppo, 
that  they  can  compete  with  the  Hebrew,  as  to  their  claims  for 
credence.  The  credit  of  the  Septuagint  chronology  has  been 
irretrievably  shaken  to  its  foundation,  by  J.  D.  Michaelis,  in 
his  Essay  upon  it,  printed  in  a volume  of  the  Commentt.  Soc. 
Gôtting.  And  with  respect  to  the  credit  due  to  the  Samari- 
tan copy  of  the  Pentateuch,  Gesenius,  in  his  Commentatio 
respecting  it,  has  utterly  overthrown  all  claims  to  place  it  by 
the  side  of  the  Hebrew.  It  is  notoriously  altered,  and  muti- 
lated in  various  places,  by  unfaithful  and  designing  scribes. 

The  whole  subject  of  Egyptian  chronology,  is  yet  mani- 


APPENDIX. 


275 


festly  too  much  in  its  infancy,  to  entitle  us  to  be  confident 
as  to  any  conclusions  or  difficulties  respecting  it.  Of  course, 
no  fears  or  alarm  need  be  entertained,  when  some  seeming 
discrepancy  between  that  and  the  Mosaic  chronology  pre- 
sents itself.  Patient  development,  allowance  for  the  uncer- 
tainty of  traditionary  accounts  as  to  matters  of  dates  and  pro- 
per names,  and  a fuller  knowledge  of  the  whole  ground,  we 
may  well  expect,  will  eventually  chase  away  most  of  the 
darkness  that  yet  covers  any  part  of  this  subject.  M.  S.] 


[ S.  p.  148.  ] 

Location  of  Raineses. 

[ An  overwhelming  objection  to  this  location  of  Rameses, 

is,  that  it  must  lie  on  the  west  side  of  the  Nile,  and  at  the 
distance  of  some  120  or  more  miles  from  the  Red  Sea  ; nay, 
more  than  150  miles  from  that  pass  where  the  Hebrews  went 
over  it.  Now  there  is  not  one  word  in  Scripture  about  the 
Hebrews’  passing  the  Nile,  when  they  set  out  on  their  jour- 
ney toward  Palestine  ; a thing  incredible,  if  they  did  indeed 
pass  it,  for  this  passage  would  have  been  more  difficult  than 
that  of  the  Red  Sea,  inasmuch  as  the  Egyptians  could  very 
easily  annoy  them,  and  the  Hebrews  had  no  means  of  passing 

it.  But  leaving  this  out  of  question  ; it  appears  by  Ex.  xii. 
37  and  xiii.  20,  that  at  the  end  of  the  second  day’s  journey 
from  Raineses , the  Hebrews  were  on  the  borders  of  the  Red 
Sea.  Could  a caravan  of  three  millions  of  people,  heavily 
laden  with  baggage,  and  accompanied  by  all  their  women, 
children,  and  aged  persons,  as  also  by  their  flocks  and  herds, 
their  sheep  and  goats, — could  these  travel  120  or  150  miles 
in  two  days  ? The  thing  is  absolutely  impossible.  They 
must  be  taken  up  and  carried  through  the  air  to  accomplish 
this.  They  could,  at  most,  advance  not  more  than  some 
20  miles  a day.  Accordingly  we  are  necessitated  by  this 
circumstance,  to  find  Rameses  within  some  40  miles  of  the 
head  of  the  Red  Sea.  In  all  probability  it  was  at  Abou 


276 


APPENDIX. 


Keyshid , on  the  borders  of  the  great  Canal-Valley  (Wadi 
Saba  Byar),  which  is  about  40  miles  from  Etham  (Adjerout?) 
where  the  Hebrews  encamped  on  the  second  day  of  their 
journey.  At  Abou  Keyshid  are  still  left  not  a few  Egyptian 
monuments,  probably  of  the  Pharaonic  age,  which  testify  to 
this  having  been  a place  of  importance  under  the  Egyptian 
dynasty.  See  on  this  whole  subject,  an  Excursus  in  No.  I. 
Vol.  II.  of  my  Course  of  Hebrew  Study.  M.  S.] 


[ T.  p.  153.  ] 

Situation  of  Goshen. 

[The  same  objections  to  the  location  of  Goshen  on  the  west 
of  the  Nile  may  be  made,  as  against  the  location  of  Raineses 
there.  Past  all  rational  doubt,  Goshen  must  have  been  east  of 
the  Nile,  and  have  embraced  the  country  (more  or  less  of  it) 
which  now  comprises  what  is  called  the  isthmus  of  Suez,  and 
which  the  Egyptians  now  call  Tardbia , i.  e.  the  Arabian  part 
of  Egypt  (because  it  borders  on  Arabia),  and  also  Sharkiya , 
i.  e.  eastern  part,  viz.  of  Egypt.  It  is  now  known,  that  this  coun- 
try is  very  far  from  being  all  a desert , and  that  in  it  are  sev- 
eral extensive  Wadies  or  valleys,  where  water  is  at  all  times 
very  easily  procured,  and  the  soil  is  exceedingly  fruitful, 
being  occasionally  overflowed  by  the  Nile.  I must  refer  the 
reader  for  a particular  discussion  of  this  whole  subject,  to  the 
Excursus  above  named,  where  he  will  find  some  things  to 
which  our  English  geographies  have  not  hitherto  given  us 
access.  M.  S.] 


TL. I. 


TI. If 


Hieroglyphics 

pure. 

Hieratic . 

I)  emotic . 

A 

% 

SLL 

B 

A 

I Z 

a- 

GrorK 

0 

{ — 

Dor  T 

.€] 

a - 

A- 

OorTJ 

Ç 

/9 

CA 

Eorl 

1 

PP 

J\ ! 

K 

ILl.H. 

M 

ADO 

N 

— 

. — . 

1 " 

P 

ira: 

LLLL 

* 

ILL . lLL-iif 

PLotP 

<0> 

-<=* 

<=><z> 

s 

. 

Tqrj 

'll 

Tsn  Ale  Cart's  Xïtho  Heston 


PJ1095.G82 

Essay  on  the  hieroglyphic  system  of  M. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1 1012  00143  8995 


